Prior to the election, Rahman led (as Prime Minister) the first Rahman cabinet, a coalition government that consisted of members of the component parties of Alliance Party.

The cabinet was sworn in on 22 August 1959 and Rahman assumed the office of Prime Minister from Abdul Razak Hussein who was the Acting Prime Minister after Rahman took a three-month leave of office to campaign for the elections.

All federal ministers from the First Rahman cabinet were retained with the exception of H.S.

Lee who did not contest the 1959 elections and Mohd Khir Johari who was contesting in the constituency of Kedah Tengah, where elections had been postponed to 30 September 1959.

[1] This is a list of the members of the second cabinet of the first Prime Minister of Malaysia (then Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya), Tunku Abdul Rahman.