1955 general election During the
1955 general election, the Naval Base Labour Union decided to boycott the
Singaporean government's general elections, as they felt they had a "disinterest in our problems". They requested all participating political parties to not contest in their constituency,
Sembawang Constituency. However, the
Progressive Party (PP) ignored their request and fielded candidate Lee Kim Kee. In response, the Naval Base Labour Union nominated Ahmad as an
independent candidate to contest against Lee.
The Straits Times reported that Ahmad was sure to have the support of about 3,000 unionists in the constituency, and that his promises were allowing service employees benefits from the government's social legislation and amending the Trade Union Ordinance, among other things. He later received support from 5,000 members of the Naval Base Labour Union and from the PAP's
Lee Kuan Yew, who asked
Sembawang constituents to vote for Ahmad. Ahmad went on to win Sembawang Constituency with 4,281 votes against the PP's Lee Kim Kee's 2,488 votes. In Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs, he revealed that they fielded Ahmad as an independent candidate instead of under the PAP banner as they were considered "too radical" at the time, and he would better garner the vote of the Malays and Indians if unaffiliated with the PAP.
First Legislative Assembly (1955–1959) In July 1955, Ahmad requested that the government conduct a review of the salaries of the
Royal Malayan Navy (RMN), seeing as there was a difference in pay between the RMN and the
Singapore Police Force. The government responded to Ahmad that they would not do so, under the view that the pay rates were last revised in 1952, and that the duties of the RMN and the Singapore Police Force differed too much for them to be considered similar services. His suggestion for granting loans to RMN personnel was also rejected, but the possibility of housing for RMN's families was still under consideration. In November 1955, during a boycott by Malay students, Ahmad brought up that funding for Malay education in 1956 was only , while Chinese and English education received and , respectively. He also supported the establishment of a Malay secondary school. In April 1956, Ahmad, alongside assemblyman
Mak Pak Shee, was sent to the United Kingdom to learn about
parliamentary procedure. In July 1957, he stated he would join the PAP; prior to this, he had always voted with the PAP. Some sources also said that he was already a member of the PAP, but Ahmad did not confirm nor deny this claim. Nonetheless, his affiliation with the PAP increased their representation in the
Legislative Assembly to four seats. Later in October, the PAP revealed their new
Central Executive Committee (CEC), with Ahmad being a part of the committee, having been previously co-opted. By 1959, he was the assistant secretary-general of the PAP's CEC. Ahmad was subsequently named the
minister for health in Lee Kuan Yew's
first cabinet and was sworn in on 6 June 1959.
Second Legislative Assembly (1959–1962) On 9 June 1959, he outlined his ministry's new health policy, which was to improve relations with the public and build two new hospitals in
Jurong and
Changi. That same week, Ahmad and his health parliamentary secretary
Sheng Nam Chin visited all the hospitals in Singapore. In August, he expanded on their health policy and upcoming plans such as providing better food in hospitals, testing the implementation of maternity homes in populated areas, and the conceptualisation of a dental nurse training school and dental outpatient unit, among other things. This policy was planned to be carried out within the next five years. Ahmad also reconstituted the Medical Advisory Council to have its membership be made up of qualified individuals and its purpose to advise the health minister on matters. In December, Ahmad urged the public to get vaccinated for smallpox, following suspected cases in Malaysia. In July 1960, Ahmad defended his decision to enlist 20 specialists and 40 doctors from overseas to work in Singapore. He stated that there was a lack of local doctors to fill roles needed in the health ministry. He also said that the dental industry would be expanded soon, and that more dentists would be hired and a dental nurse training school would be created soon. In September, Ahmad attended the inaugural meeting of the Singapore Blood Donors' Association, praising the cooperation between public services and the government. In October, he launched an x-ray campaign in
Farrer Park, offering x-rays to those above fourteen-years-old to help detect
tuberculosis early. After a cabinet reshuffle in September 1961, Ahmad was appointed
minister for labour, swapping portfolios with
K. M. Byrne; he briefly served as acting labour and law minister in this period. Ahmad proved his strength as labour minister by deregistering the then-communist-affiliated
Trade Union Congress and attacking other pro-communists in the Works Brigade. == Death ==