Education
Abdullah studied at Raffles Institution and obtained a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Singapore, followed by a post-graduate diploma in urban studies from the University of London in 1972 under a Commonwealth Scholarship.
Career
Abdullah has been a Member of Parliament since 1984, starting out at Siglap constituency and later Bedok Group Representation Constituency (Bedok GRC) from 1991 to 1996. After Bedok GRC and Eunos GRC was merged to form East Coast GRC in 1997, Abdullah still remained in the Siglap ward but under East Coast GRC. Abdullah was also the Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 1989 to 1993 before becoming the Speaker of Parliament on 25 March 2002. Abdullah announced his retirement from politics on March 24, 2011, prior to the 2011 general elections.
In January 2012, Abdullah was appointed to the Presidential Council for Minority Rights by Singapore President Tony Tan.
Membership
He was the Speaker of Parliament and a Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for East Coast Group Representation Constituency (East Coast GRC) from 1996 to 2011.