[3] He next obtained two separate master's degrees in both public works administration and civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

[5] Utu Abe Malae died on October 2, 2018, at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center in Faga'alu, American Samoa.

[3] He served as the executive director of the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA), a government electric utility.

[3] He was appointed to oversee both the LBJ Medical Center and the Port Administration by separate American Samoan governors while he headed the ASPA.

[3] Malae, the American Samoa Power Authority and several other employees of the ASPA were also honored at the Mayors' Asia-Pacific Environment Summit 2001 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

[7] Before the Summit, Malae presented then Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris with detailed accomplishments of ways in which the ASPA, under his directorship, had worked to combat environmental problems in American Samoa and elsewhere in the Pacific.

The award "honors Abe Malae and recognize the tangible progress of the municipality and people of the American Samoa Power Authority in fulfilling their sustainable development commitment declared.

[13] Malae served as one of American Samoa's elected delegates who supported 2008 presidential nominee Senator John McCain, and represented the territory at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

[21] Utu Abe Malae announced the formation of an exploratory committee April 2008 to study the feasibility of a candidacy for Governor of American Samoa.

[22] Malae fueled further speculation that he was planning a run for governor when he tendered his resignation as president of the Development Bank of American Samoa.

[12] He chose Nua Mailo Saoluaga, a former Speaker of the American Samoa House of Representatives who is from Manu'a, as his running mate for lieutenant governor.