David Abdulah

David Abdulah is the son of retired Anglican bishop Clive Abdulah and his wife Mariko, who was Canadian of Japanese ancestry.^[2] Born in Jamaica, while his father was serving as a parish priest in a rural community there,^[2][3] he attended the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, in Trinidad, obtaining a B.A. degree in mathematics and economics.^[4][5] His political and labour activism began during his student days at St. Augustine.^[6][7]

Abdulah worked for the OWTU from 1978 until his retirement in 2016.^[8][5] He served as its Chief Education and Research Officer, and was Secretary General of the union from 2008 to 2016.^[8] He also served as president of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and Non-Governmental Organisations (FITUN) until 2012, when he chose not to stand for re-election.^[9]

The MSJ was party to the Fyzabad Accord which formed the People's Partnership (PP),^[10] and after the PP's victory in the 2010 general elections Abdulah was appointed to the Senate as a government senator representing the MSJ.^[1] After the resignation of Errol McLeod, the party's political leader, from the MSJ in January 2012, Abdulah took over as interim political leader of the MSJ.^[11] In June, the MSJ under Abdulah's leadership withdrew from the PP government.^[12]

Abdulah was the MSJ candidate for the Pointe-à-Pierre seat in the 2020 general elections. He placed third of four candidates behind the United National Congress's David Lee and the People's National Movement's Daniel Dookie.^[13] The party did not contest the 2025 general elections.^[14]