One of these political organisation was the Malayan Chinese Association, or MCA. MCA was brought into existence in 1949 by two men, Colonel H. S. Lee, the President of the Selangor Mining Association, and Tan Cheng Lock of Malacca. It occurred to him that if MCA and UMNO allied at the municipal level, their chances of success would be greater. Together with his deputy, they met and sought the approval of Dato' Yahaya, the Chairman of UMNO in Kuala Lumpur. They quickly reached an agreement. Under the chairmanship of Col. H. S. Lee, a combined committee from the MCA and UMNO was formed and 12 candidates were selected, one for each area, some Malays, some Chinese, and one Indian. The committee then began a vigorous campaign to enlist support for "The Alliance".