Jacob Ballas

Jacob Ballas (b. 21 January, 1921, Iraq - d. 18 January 2000, Singapore) was a pillar of the Jewish community in Singapore, a successful stockbroker and well-known philanthropist.

Early Life
Ballas was the only child of Shua and Grace Ballas, a poor Orthodox Baghdadi family in Amara, Iraq. When he was a few years old, the family moved to Labuan, a British outpost in Northern Borneo, where his father joined relatives who were in the textile business.

Following the rubber market crash in the late 1920s, the business in Labuan failed and the family moved to Singapore. They rented a modest two-storey terrace house at 19, Wilkie Road and the home was kept strictly kosher. Ballas' mother supported the family by baking roti- a round, flat Arabic bread loved by the Jewish community. Ballas helped his mother sell these in their neighbourhood. Together with other Jewish boys, Ballas spent his afternoons (except Fridays and Saturdays) at the Talmud Torah at Bencoolen Street, where a hot meal preceded several hours of lessons.

Ballas enrolled at St. Andrew's School. He considered his student years there to be the foundation of his life and success. Going to school and interacting with children of other ethnic groups broadened Ballas' perspective, which had up to then revolved around his home. So significant was his school-going years that Ballas adopted his first day of school- 21 January- as his date of birth, since he did not know his actual birthday.

At St. Andrew's School, Ballas started the first school magazine in 1928. He founded St. Andrew's first and Singapore's only Jewish scout group, Deft Patrol, with ten other Jewish boys. In 1937, Ballas played the role of Mark Anthony in the drama production of Julius Caesar by the St. Andrew's Old Boys' Association (SAOBA). He was actively involved in the SAOBA and was its President from 1957 to 1961.

Despite being a brilliant student and having passed his Senior Cambridge Examination with a Grade 1, he was not offered a scholarship because he was not a British subject. Although a friend's father offered to support him through college, Ballas could not afford to study further as he needed to support his family.

Career
Upon leaving school, Ballas became a car salesman at a motor firm, Lyons Motors, for a monthly salary of $30 a month. He rose up the ranks quickly and was paid $115 a month in 1939. In that same year, the manager of Sun Life Insurance of Canada, visited Lyons Motors as a customer and was so impressed with Ballas' salesmanship that he offered Ballas a job. Ballas asked for a monthly salary of $250 and got it. At around 20 years of age in 1940, Ballas joined Sun Life Insurance.

Ballas' upward advancement was interrupted by the war. He became superintendent-in-charge of transport at the St Andrew's Unit of the Medical Auxiliary Service and managed the deployment of civilian vehicles to bombsites to evacuate victims. During the Japanese Occupation, Ballas worked as a second-hand car salesman and operated a watch shop with a friend. His friend was later interned and their shop seized by the Japanese. Ballas then took to buying and selling watches on the street for a livelihood. Ballas' father passed away in May 1944, and shortly thereafter, Ballas and his mother were interned.

After the war, Ballas returned to working at Sun Life Insurance. Although he excelled in his job, career advancement was slow. Ballas was then introduced by friends to stocks and the stock exchange. In 1958, he bought a seat on the Stock Exchange for $25,000 and thus started J. Ballas & Co. By the early 1960s, Ballas had made his first million and his staff strength grew from five to 25. The company merged with Hong Kong-based Citicorp Vickers to become Vickers Ballas in the early 1990s and it went public in 1993.

In 1962, Ballas became Chairman of the Malayan Stock Exchange. From 1964 to 1967, he was chairman of the Malaysia and Singapore Stock Exchange. Under Ballas' leadership, the trading rooms both in Singapore and Malaysia were set up and managed with strict professionalism. He also introduced stringent listing requirements and new rules to control trading. During his time in office, the paid-up capital of listed companies rose from about $870 million to almost $2 billion. The same period also saw a doubling in the number of companies whose shares were traded in the exchanges.

Community
Ballas regarded Singapore as his home despite his Baghdadi roots. Immediately after the war, Ballas and his mother had initially decided to return to Iraq as they had relatives in Baghdad. Upon arrival, they found Iraq hostile to Jews and quickly made the passage back to Singapore in 1947.

The poverty that Ballas experienced in his youth cultivated a giving heart in him. His philanthropy extended to all who were needy- Jews and non-Jews alike. In Singapore, Ballas served the Jewish community actively, being the President of the Jewish Welfare Board in 1961 and from 1990 to 2000. During the time that he was not in leadership, he served the community behind the scenes through generous financial support to the synagogue and to needy individuals. He also sat on the Board of Governors of St. Andrew's Junior College and on the Board of Advisors of the Universities Endowment Fund. For his Baghdadi relations, Ballas and his mother paid them annual visits in Israel (after they were forced out of Iraq).

Ballas is regarded as one of the pillars of the Jewish community in Singapore and his legacy lives on through his philanthropy. At his death, his estate was said to be worth more than $100 million. Charities in Singapore and Israel each received half of his bequests. The Jacob Ballas Centre in Singapore, which opened in November 2007, is an example of Ballas' legacy of giving. The centre is the hub of Jewish life in Singapore- housing the rabbi and his family, a mikvah (ritual bath for women), and a rooftop sukkah (for use during the festival of Sukkot) amongst other things.

Final Years

Ballas did not marry and was a devoted son to his mother. He was devastated when his mother passed away on 18 February 1996. His deep love for her prompted him to dedicate many of his charitable works to the memory of her, such as scholarships at St Andrew's Junior College in Singapore, and a hospital building in Israel.

In 2000, Ballas was warded in hospital for two weeks following a heart condition and died in hospital in January while in the intensive care ward. He is buried next to his mother in Choa Chu Kang cemetery.

Family
Father- Shua Ballas.
Mother- Grace Ballas.



Author

Dinesh Sathisan



References
Bieder, Joan. (2007). The Jews of Singapore. Singapore: Suntree Media.

(Call no.:  RSING 959.57004924 BIE)

Phuah, Millie. (1986). The Jews in Singapore. (Sound recording). Singapore: Oral History Department.
(Call no.: RAV 305.892405957 JEW)

St. Andrews School. (1937). Up and On: St. Andrew's School Magazine, 5(2), 27-28.
(Call no.: RSING 373.5957 UO)

Tan, Kevin Y. L. & Wan, Meng Hao. (2002). Scouting in Singapore: 1910-2000. Singapore: Singapore Scouts Association, National Archives of Singapore.
(Call no.: RSING q369.43095957 TAN)

Our history-  Retrieved on March 30, 2009, from http://www.saints.org.sg/index.php/history.


Further Readings
Chong, Elena. (2002, October 16). Stockbrokers will valid; rules court. The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

F J Benjamin chairman Ballas dies. (2000, January 19). The Straits Times. Retrieved on February 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Krall, David. (2000, June 21). Ballas: The man, the name. The Straits Times. Life!, p. 8.

Lee, Su Shyan. (2001, May 12). Ong Beng Seng raises Vicker's stake thanks to 'gift'. The Straits Times. Money, p. 13.

Nathan, Eze. (1986). The History of the Jews in Singapore: 1830-1945. Singapore: HERBILU Editorial and Marketing Services.

(Call no.: English 301.45192405957 NAT)

The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the library for further reading materials on the topic.