Sir Hugh Low

Sir Hugh Low (born May 10, 1824, Clapton, London, Eng.—died April 18, 1905, Alassio, Italy) was the first successful British administrator in the Malay Peninsula, whose methods became models for subsequent British colonial operations in Malaya.

Before going to the Malay Peninsula, Low had spent an uneventful 30 years as a colonial civil servant on the small island of Labuan, a crown colony off the northwest coast of Borneo. There he acquired administrative experience, fluency in Malay, and a reputation as a naturalist. In April 1877, he became resident of Perak. By the terms of the Pangkor Engagement (1874), the resident was an adviser whose decisions were binding in all matters except for custom or religion. The first resident had been murdered by Malays in 1874, precipitating a war that had left nearly all high Malay officials dead or in exile. Low’s appointment marked a return to civil authority.

In his 12 years in Perak, Low firmly established a peaceful British administration. He created a state council that included the principal Malay, Chinese, and British leaders, and he made use of prominent Malays at most levels of his administration. While he was careful to allow the Malays no real independence, he was notably successful in molding an effective administration from the racial and cultural amalgam he found in the state.