Ali was first appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the then finance minister, Tan Siew Sin in 1964, in the third Tunku Abdul Rahman cabinet and was one of the young office-holders of the said position at only 34 years of age.
He then switched his portfolio as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in the January 1973 cabinet reshuffle with fellow UMNO politician, Mohamed Yaacob, after the admittance of Malaysian Islamic Party in the Alliance-led government.
[6] On 4 December 1977, while he was still Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, he was one of the passengers killed in Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 plane crash at Tanjung Kupang,[7] along with his press secretary Hood Fadzil.
[9] Parliament's Dewan Rakyat on the next day observed a minute silence before the start of meeting as a sign of respect of Ali and others who perished in the tragedy.
[11] Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato' Ali Ahmad, a secondary school in Pontian, Johor, is named after him, as a mark of token to his contributions as the member of parliament as well as his federal ministership.