Writer. He is best known for his writings on the pursuit of Malay independence and his grammar books titled "Pelita Bahasa Melayu." Born in Batu Kikir, he learned to read and write at a young age by practicing on banana leaves, using twigs as his pencils. He attended Sekolah Melayu Batu Kikir. Shortly after, his father transferred him to Sekolah Melayu Linggi. In 1910, he continued his education at St. Paul's Institution and was the first Malay to pass the Senior Cambridge test in 1915. He later began his career as a teacher, teaching at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) in 1918. There, he consolidated the Malay spelling system, which at the time had various spelling systems. He also incorporated English and Arabic words into the Malay language. During the Japanese occupation, he was transferred to the Department of Information as a translator for the Japanese to write books, which were used in Malaya and Sumatera. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, he and his family moved to Kuala Lumpur. When the British returned to Malaya, the Malayan Union was established, but it was resisted by the Malay community. The resistance was led by Dato' Onn Jaafar, who then established the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in an effort to unite the Malay community. Za'aba was elected as the first Secretary-General of UMNO, but he only held the position for a short time as he was more interested in writing. He taught the Malay language at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in 1947. In 1953, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Malay and Arabic studies. In 1962, he received the Panglima Mangku Negara (PMN) award from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which carries the title Tan Sri.