Kenneth Low

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Kenneth Mang-Kwong Low is a Chinese-Fijian businessman and political figure. He unsuccessfully ran for Fiji’s parliament in 1999 with the General Voters Party for the Western Central General Electors seat, and in 2001 he stood for Suva City as an SDL candidate but did not win. He was later appointed to Fiji’s Senate as one of nine prime ministerial nominees and became Vice-President of the Senate on 28 February 2005, the first Chinese-Fijian to hold that position.

Low says he was born in Chongqing, China, near the end of World War II, and moved to Fiji at age ten. He is a third-generation Sino-Fijian; his grandfather arrived in Fiji in 1908. His father, Low Kum-Tim, came from Hong Kong in 1955 to teach at Lautoka Chinese School. Low studied architecture at the University of New South Wales, worked in Sydney as an architect and builder, taught at the Sydney TAFE, and earned a Diploma in Education in 1978. He returned to Fiji in 1983 to practice architecture and later became a property developer. He also spent time in Sydney after the 1987 coup and returned to Fiji in 1991.

In 1994 he founded and led the All Chinese Business Association of Fiji to promote Fiji-China trade. As a Senator, he supported indigenous Fijian dominance and called for crackdown on illegal immigration from China, alleging corruption among immigration officials and urging a full inquiry in November 2005. He retired from the Senate in June 2006 and did not contest the 2006 elections.

Today, Low promotes Fiji-China relations. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Manager of the Lautoka Chinese School, which expanded its facilities in 2003–2004.