SINGAPORE: We all are too familiar with the story of Robin Hood – he who is said to have robbed from the rich to give to the poor.

We forget that while the character is depicted in Hollywood movies as the champion of regular folks, at the end of the day Robin Hood remains a vigilante.

He takes matters onto his own hands, and subjectively decides what is fair and what is not.

Historically, policymakers have been the primary stakeholders who set laws and regulations of a country. Organisations that want to operate within the structure must abide by its laws.

Yet Silicon Valley-led innovation is about breaking rules. Students at universities and business schools learn about and have come to see “disruptive” or “paradigm-shifting” businesses such as Uber, AirBnB and others as models to emulate.

GET BIG QUICKLY

In the name of growth and innovation, some companies aggressively move into new markets and break local laws. 

The race to get as big as possible is on, by raising a lot of money and artificially propping up consumer demand through subsidies (because companies are willing to lose money just to gain market share).

Companies have no qualms paying fines as long as they can operate and expand their market share. This strategy works in some places, it backfires in others. It is no wonder Bloomberg News recently asked companies like Airbnb to “grow up”.

Let’s take legal trouble Airbnb ran into in Singapore. Two Singaporean Airbnb hosts who pleaded guilty were fined S$60,000 each on Tuesday (Apr 3) for unauthorised short-term rentals posted on Airbnb. They were charged for renting out four units at a condominium for less than six months without permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Private homes in Singapore are subject to a minimum rental period of three consecutive months, while for public housing, home to about 80 per cent of Singapore’s residents, rentals must be at least six-months long. These rules govern short-term leases, protecting residential areas from becoming commercialised.

OBEY THE HOUSE RULES

There are valid arguments to support Airbnb. Home owners earn extra income from renting out their property.

Renters like to stay in Airbnb homes because some are located away from the main business and shopping districts, providing a home-away-from-home feel to their stay, and giving visitors a taste of local life.

Renters also like the option of having cheaper alternatives to expensive hotel rooms.

But here is a thought: When we rent a place on Airbnb, we must agree to the house rules. So shouldn’t Airbnb similarly agree to the house rules of a country in which they operate in?

I am highly supportive of innovative start-ups that positively impact the lives of people. I have been championing positive social impact as the foundation of all enterprises (not just socially-minded ones).

However, we can’t achieve this goal by curtailing the legal system in place. If companies are serious about changing lives, they should work with policymakers and craft products and services that are more equitable for consumers or work towards shifting laws that are outdated.

So Airbnb should work with our policymakers on policy shifts and legislative amendments that benefit the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.

JOIN FORCES WITH NON-PROFITS AFTER

Once companies get their business model localised, they can contribute further by helping the community address some of its social issues.

For instance, the partnership between Airbnb and TOUCH Community Services to offer qigong and chap chye cooking experiences with Singapore elderly is a good example of corporate social responsibility. We need more corporations to join forces with local non-profit organisations.

But just like the Robin Hood story, you can’t give with one hand and take from the other.

Enterprises serious about making a society better through its work must understand that longevity of their social impact initiative depends on the longevity of their business.

Perhaps the ruckus over Airbnb is a cautionary tale for start-up founders: Pursue your innovative ideas, but work with policy makers to ensure your business thrive within the confines of the country’s laws. Consumers should be able to use your products and services without having to worry whether they’ll run into legal trouble.

Being socially responsible ought to be the foundation of all enterprises.

Jonathan Chang is executive director of the Singapore Management University’s Lien Centre for Social Innovation. The centre will be holding its biennial hallmark conference Social iCon on May 18, 2018 titled Women and Innovations.

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SINGAPORE: Stranger Things die-hards, you’re in for a treat this Halloween. The trick that Universal Studios Singapore (USS) is pulling will transport you to the small town of Hawkins, Indiana – and, yes, the Upside Down, the nightmarish parallel universe that unleashed the Demogorgon.

The blockbuster sci-fi thriller will be brought to life at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights, Sep 28 to Oct 31 at USS.

The goal is to represent the scenes and characters of Stranger Things as authentically as possible since USS – along with Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort – has collaborated with Netflix and the creators of the blockbuster series to bring to life iconic scenes from Season 1 (which is the better season, if you ask us).

Wander through the mazes and you will find yourself in the Hawkins National Laboratory, the US Department of Energy, the Byers home with the erratic flashing Christmas lights, and the Upside Down woods with the eerie floating spores. You will, however, have to bring your own Eggos, 80s perm and Winona Ryder.

This year marks the eighth edition of the Halloween Horror Nights. In addition to the Stranger Things maze, fans can also expect the return of last year’s Zombie Laser Tag as well as Asian-themed horrors and Western scare acts.

Limited-Time Special tickets from S$50 each are available now, and every ticket purchase comes with exclusive Stranger Things merchandise. There is also the Infinite Fear Package that includes admission, Express Plus pass, and Zombie Laser Tag.

More information on Halloween Horror Nights here.

SINGAPORE: Ride-hailing platform Grab experienced server issues on Tuesday night (Apr 3) affecting customers in several Southeast Asian countries.

When Channel NewsAsia tried accessing the app at about 8pm, there was an error message: “Looks like we weren’t able to connect to our server. Please try again in a few minutes.”

In response to an enquiry on its Facebook page, Grab replied that it was “experiencing some technical difficulties with our app and it had affected some users”. 

“Our engineers are working to recover the app. Please be patient with us and try again later. We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused,” it said. 

Grab users also took to social media reporting similar error messages, from countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. 

Several grab drivers also reported this evening that the Grab app for drivers was also not working.

This comes after separate complaints earlier this morning where they also experienced a “job card glitch”. 

One person in a WhatsApp group for Grab drivers forwarded this message from Grab: “Dear Partner, we apologise for the job card glitch this morning, where fare and destination were no(t) shown. This technical glitch has now been resolved. Please restart your phone and Grab Driver App to see the destination and fares again. Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your support.”

Channel NewsAsia has reached out to Grab for comment.

Grab announced last Monday that it will be taking over competitor Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, but there have been concerns that the merger violates anti-competition laws in a few countries.

This is a developing story.

SINGAPORE: History fans can soon visit excavation pits at the Singapore Art Museum’s (SAM) front lawn as the museum undergoes an archaeological investigation.

The investigation, which is free for public viewing, is also part of the Singapore Heritage Festival, which begins on Friday (Apr 6). 

The dig at the former St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) building – a gazetted National Monument – on Bras Basah Road will seek to determine the archaeological significance of SAM as a historical site, the museum said in a media release. 

“The investigation is especially important, as the site is located right outside the walls of ancient Temasek,” said SAM. 

It may also reveal more about the histories and usage of the site, which prior to the construction of the building in 1855, was where the earliest Roman Catholic chapel in Singapore was located, it added. 

Conducted by the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre Archaeology Unit and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, an exhibition will also be held to detail the process of conducting archaeology. The archaeological digs event during the festival will be held on Apr 6-8, Apr 11-15 and Apr 18-22. 

SAM added that the archaeological investigation will also ascertain if any further steps are necessary before its S$90 million revamp. SCDA Architects was appointed to manage the project after an open tender for the redevelopment of SAM buildings was called last September.

This is the first time the contemporary art museum – which has a strong focus on works from Asia – will be undergoing a major revamp since its opening in 1996.

The annual Singapore Heritage Festival will also include theatrical tours that explore the SAM building, meet-and-greet sessions with archaeologists and talks on Singapore’s history. 

Recent archaeological excavation sites in Singapore include the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, which yielded artefacts weighing about 2,500kg. 

At Pulau Ubin, attempts are also underway to discover more historical artefacts, with the first in-depth archaeological surveys on the island. 

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SINGAPORE: At the age of nine, Sofia Chen made history last year by becoming the youngest Singaporean author to land a major publishing deal in the United States – with a Lego how-to activity book.

And it all began because she simply wanted to help her six-year-old sister, who has Down Syndrome, build brick toys.

Sofia is the young co-author and co-designer of Amazing Animals: Creative Brick Building with Step-by-Step Ideas. Published by Post Hill Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, it is the first title in a brick building series for children aged four and above, and will be officially launched worldwide next month.

The book, which is not officially endorsed by Lego, contains simple-to-follow instructions on how to create 20 animal characters – brick creations that are perfect for Sofia’s special younger sister, Natalie.

“I was into Lego before and she was my inspiration for the book,” said Sofia. “Natalie likes building Lego but she needs more help, because she learns slower than other kids. So I wanted to make little animal projects easy enough for her and other kids like her to be able to build,” she said.

FROM INDIE BOOKS TO MAJOR PUBLISHER

Sofia and her family are currently back in Singapore to celebrate her 10th birthday, visit relatives, as well as do a bit of promotion for the book, which hits stores on May 1. (She’ll be dropping by Channel NewsAsia’s First Look Asia on Apr 5.)

Her family relocated to Arcadia, California, two-and-a-half years ago for her sister’s sake. “We moved because we wanted Natalie to have an early intervention in education,” said Sofia’s mother, Ann Kositchotitana.

Kositchotitana, who may be familiar to local fashionistas as the entrepreneur behind the defunct local concept store Front Row and the brand HLS, recalled how Sofia’s book project began by accident.

A family friend named Paul Bacio, an avid brick-builder, had created a DIY Lego building kit for his own young daughter. One day, Kositchotitana and Sofia both saw Natalie following the same building kit instructions at home.

“We were so shocked and didn’t expect her to do that,” said Kositchotitana.

The two families then decided to team up to create a brick-building book series for young kids, featuring collaborations between the adult Bacio and young Sofia.

After releasing a couple of self-published books early last year, another friend, bestselling author Soon Yu, saw the books and offered to link them up with Post Hill Press, which immediately offered them a contract.

MAKING THEM KID-FRIENDLY

The book Amazing Animals was an equal collaboration between the two co-designers.

After her “Uncle Paul” designed the animals, Sofia would step in to offer suggestions and tweaks, such as choosing which animals would be easy to make (Penny Penguin? Easy. Rally Ram? Advanced) and what colours kids would find more attractive (A brown camel? Let’s make it red and yellow!).

​​​​​​​

Most importantly, she was able to streamline the instructions to make it easier for young children to follow – something that adults fail to understand, said her mother.

“She’d tailor it to make it kid-friendly,” said Kositchotitana, pointing out that many of the how-to books in the market are often too complicated, even for adults.

“Sofia was instrumental in making sure that whatever was done, she tested it and made sure each step is easy enough to follow.”

Plus, Sofia also makes sure that she lets her younger sister try them out too. “Natalie can do it in 10 minutes if I help her, because she doesn’t know multiplication,” she said.

Sofia also designed the book cover.

ONE BRICK AT A TIME

That doesn’t mean the precocious youngster sticks to simple Lego creations herself. In fact, the more complicated, the better – from Lego creations in school that employ robotics to “limited edition things” at home with her father.

Sofia’s brick-building passion stems not just from the fact that she’s surrounded by Lego enthusiasts at home (her mother’s brother is also one) but also because technology isn’t allowed.

“Except for an old tablet that is only used for playing bedtime music. But I’m fine because my mom buys me a lot of toys,” quipped Sofia.

Her mother added: “She has no phone or iPad. She already uses Chromebook in school and that’s enough. I feel kids should be kids and their natural state is to tinker and play. This is the age of curiosity so you feed them things with a lot of sensory input and create something out of nothing.”

And from the looks of it, Sofia will have her hands busy on more brick-building projects. The next book in the series will come out later this year and will focus on creations related to the holidays, such as Christmas and Halloween.

The young author also added they’re working on a separate indie book, this time on pets. “Like a hamster face, a whole snake, slugs, and a goldfish in a bowl!” she said, with a smile.

For her mother, Sofia’s brick-building adventures have been truly heartwarming, not least because it has been truly a family affair, with her affection for Natalie at the core.

Said Kositchotitana: “I always say I feel very proud of her because she’s been such a great sister to the little one.”

Amazing Animals: Creative Brick Building With Step-By-Step Ideas will be available in Singapore at Books Kinokuniya and MPH Bookstores starting May 1. It retails at S$24.90 before GST.