Social media influencer Xiaxue has claimed that Workers’ Party (WP) chairman Sylvia Lim did not respond to repeated complaints about the poor condition of her Housing Development Board (HDB) block in Aljunied GRC, in her Instagram stories.
Claiming that her housing area is in a “destitute state”, Xiaxue – whose real name is Wendy Cheng – said that the poor maintenance in her area poses a danger to residents in her stories on Tuesday (6 Oct).
The vlogger, who is a self-described People’s Action Party (PAP) supporter, has criticised the WP in the past but claimed that her complaints have nothing to do with her political views. She wrote:
“Before we go on I know I’ve always been a vocal PAP supporter. But believe it or not, this has nothing to do with my personal political views. As a resident here, I pay my town council fees and I expect my hdb to be well maintained and at the very least not dangerous!”
She added: “To be fair to Worker’s Party, I’ve been staying her for 7 years now and everything was ok, until last year when it got worse and worse. And as a disclaimer, I don’t know if it’s the whole Aljunied area that’s in a state of neglect or just around my block.”
Comparing the way the PAP manages the ward her mother lives in to the estate maintenance in her ward, Xiaxue wrote:
“My mother, who lives in Jurong, has been complaining nonstop about how unresponsive WP is, compared to PAP taking fantastic and immediate care of all her requests. Not that her area doesn’t have its problems, but when she complains, within the week it’s fixed. Again, this is just her account, if you guys live in a PAP ward and they are shit over at ur area, feel free to correct me.”
She also said that she did not want to raise this issue online but decided to do so after her mother repeatedly made complaints to Aljunied-Hougang town council to no avail. Claiming that she has received no response from her MP Sylvia Lim, Xiaxue said:
“I did NOT want to take this online. I know people are going to accuse me of spreading pro PAP propaganda again and that’s not what I’m trying to do here. Judge for yourself whether my claims are valid.
“My mother on my behalf has wrote MANY MANY times to my town council and emailed @sylvialim65 herself time and again to fix these issues and it has been months and months. Still not fixed. No response. So this is my last resort. Please do something, it is not only unsightly and unsanitary, it’s DANGEROUS.”
In her stories, Xiaxue shared photos of a damaged void deck ceiling after a chunk of the concrete dislodged and fell onto the ground. She also shared that exposed wires were secured with cable ties and that the concrete floor of the corridor outside her unit is also damaged.
The vlogger took issue with the cracks on certain parts of the HDB facade and the fact that these cracks are painted over in a colour that does not match the rest of the building, as well. She also complained about peeling paint and claimed that she has spotted rats in the vicinity, aside from expressing concerns about a pipe that appears to be leaking some kind of dark green substance.
Xiaxue subsequently posted screenshots of direct messages netizens sent her. Some appeared to attack her for criticising the WP while other netizens who allegedly live in Aljunied seconded her complaints.
Xiaxue also posted 10 screenshots of messages from netizens who allegedly live in PAP wards, who expressed shock at the way she said Aljunied is maintained and claimed that their estates are much cleaner and well maintained. The influencer claimed:
“From the responses I got, 99% were positive towards a certain party’s estate management and negative towards the other. Of course one or two dms complained about the PAP too, but I was surprised at the ratio. Of course, once can make the argument that my followers are PAP supporters too, so take it with a pinch of salt if you will.”
Claiming that she deserves to raise this issue without being labeled a member of the PAP’s Internet Brigade, she added: “I’m not trying to promote PAP here and honestly there is no need to because elections are over. But ordinary citizens should be able to praise and appreciate the good job done by their town councils without being accused of being IB dogs.Â
“And I also have the right to bring up the terrible condition of my estate without being accused of the same. After all I’ve tried my best to resolve the issues privately for months and just got ignored.”
She added that defects at common areas are the responsibility of the town council – not the HDB like some netizens claimed it was.
The Independent has written to the WP for comment and will update this story with their response.
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