Tan Siew Sin was elected a Member of Parliament for Malacca in 1955. He joined the Malaysian cabinet first as minister of trade and industry, and later became the finance minister in 1959. He then took over as president of the MCA in November 1961, and held on to both positions until 1974. Tan was appointed the Deputy Chairman of the Alliance in 1964. He led his party to victory in the 1964 General Election, winning 27 of the 33 parliamentary seats contested.