Sometimes, a complaint video really does get things moving.
A Malaysian influencer and milk tea shop owner recently went viral after he jokingly offered his vote to any politician who could help fix the badly damaged back alley behind his shop.
While some netizens mocked his approach and said it was not the right way to complain, the potholes were reportedly patched within just two to three days.
Called out broken back alley in video
On June 6 at around 9pm, influencer and Jia Yi Milk Tea founder, Chong Jia Wern uploaded a video showing the poor condition of the back alley behind his shop in Mount Austin, Johor Bahru.
According to Chong, the back alley had been badly damaged for some time, and although complaints had allegedly been made several times, there was no clear follow-up.
With the Johor state election approaching, he decided to raise the issue again through a video.
In the video, he called on politicians who intended to contest in the area to help solve the pothole problem, saying that whoever could fix it would get his vote.
Was mocked for his method
However, Chong later shared that his video attracted criticism from some people, who said his method was wrong and would not work.
Some even used his video to mock and poke fun at him.
In response, Chong admitted that he did not really know the proper complaint procedure.
However, he said he simply used the method he was most familiar with — making a video — to highlight the issue.
He added that once the video gained views, it meant the complaint had already served its purpose by drawing attention to the problem.
Potholes patched within days
On June 8 at around 10pm, Chong shared an update saying that the authorities had already sent workers to repair the back alley.
He praised Johor Bahru City Council’s efficiency, saying the response was surprisingly fast.
At the same time, he said the outcome also proved that his complaint method was not as “useless” as some people had claimed.
City councillor says issue was being monitored
Following Chong’s video, Johor Bahru city councillor Ng Yew Aik responded on June 7, saying that he had been monitoring the back alley issue in Mount Austin.
He explained that the city council had approved an allocation under road shoulder repair works to repair the back alley.
Wong also said that at around 9.30pm on June 8, MBJB’s quick action team carried out temporary repair works at the back alley.
He also thanked Chong for monitoring and highlighting the issue.
What started as a bold “fix this and you get my vote” challenge eventually led to real action, leaving many amused by how quickly the issue was resolved.
