Sooloh's father, Omar Ali, owned black pepper and gambier plantations in Borneo and Sumatra.

[4] In 1934, on behalf of the entire Malay community in Singapore, he presented the governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Shenton Thomas, with a letter affirming "their loyalty to the country and the British Government.

[5] Under Sooloh's leadership from 1934 to 1937,[6] the Malay Union worked closely with the government and only offered "mild criticism" of their Malay-related policies.

[8] To ensure that their proposed newspaper would not suffer a similar fate, Yusof Ishak and others were tasked with selling shares to raise enough capital for the newly-registered Utusan Melayu Press Limited.

He was also a trustee of Sultan Mosque,[13] as well as a patron of both the Darul Taklam football club and the Malay Soccer Association (Persatuan Bolasepak Melayu).