Joe Issa Compared with Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles Research

Research shows striking comparisons between popular Ocho Rios businessman Joe Issa and the man who founded modern-day Singapore in 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who has been described as a man of vision, industry and feeling.

Unlike Kingston-born Issa, Raffles was born on a ship off the coast of Jamaica, and that’s where the substantive differences begin and end, but the similarities abound.

 

They were both born privileged " Issa, son of hotel magnate John Issa, and Sir Thomas, born to an English ship commander named Benjamin Raffles.

 

They also shared a passion for studying. Raffles studied the Malay language intensively, and his proficiency in this then little-known language was remarked upon by those who came in contact with him.

 

Equally impressive, Issa excelled at university, graduating cum laude. He was the first international student and the new economics and accounting significantly to be honoured with the role of valedictorian.

 

A member of several honour societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Issa famously passed all four parts of the Certified Public Accountancy (CPA) examination in one sitting.

 

He was also selected by the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s Inc. as the most outstanding junior accounting student at College of the Holy Cross, which both Wikipedia and newspaper reports confirm.

 

Both men were given significant responsibilities at a young age, and they are said to have shown much vision and industry.

 

Raffles, from his 20s, went on to become a colonial administrator and historian and founded modern-day Singapore. He is said to have made incalculable contributions to the knowledge of the Malay Archipelago and the British overseas empire.

 

Similarly, for his part, albeit nearly two centuries apart, Issa became an acclaimed tourism resort builder and operator, a popular civic leader, and founded the hugely successful Cool Group of over 50 companies.

 

Considered a bright spark during his tourism career, Issa won several local and international awards.

 

He won the 1994 Young Hotelier of the World award by the Paris-based International Hotel Association, and three years later, he was given the Keys to the City of Lauderhill, Florida, by the mayor. He also copped the US-based Travel Agents Magazine's 100 Rising Stars for four consecutive years.

 

Also, they have both shown feelings for humanity. Raffles did so by protecting local interests when negotiating treaties, especially following the annexation of Java.

 

Raffles himself regarded his new land-tenure system in Java, which prevented the native rulers from critical feudal services, as the most robust accomplishment of his administration.

 

The lands which were withdrawn from the control of feudal rulers were leased on a short-term basis at a reasonable rental and were assessed at the value of two-fifths of the rice crop, with the remainder of the yield free of assessment and the growers exempt from personal taxes. He also attempted to abolish slavery.

 

Issa’s philanthropy is best found in the operation of the several charities to help educate underprivileged Jamaican children, including Cool Charities/Holy Cross Scholarships Fund, which gives bright students the opportunity to study for a degree at his alma mater.

 

According to Wikipedia, Modern Singapore was founded in 1819, when Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles negotiated a treaty whereby Johor allowed the British to found a trading port on the island.

 

Singapore was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. When the 2^nd World War ended, “Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in Singapore's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963.”

 

“But social unrest and disputes between Singapore's ruling People's Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on August 9, 1965.”