Hmmmm you can refer to below threads..
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/does-grassroots-get-priority-for-bto.7095102/
Ballot is not transparent, so whatever thing happened, we might not know, the so call "luck" I dont quite believed
BTO =/= SBF. For BTO, there is the GRO scheme where some units are allocated for grassroots members. Even you've referred to a link specifically for BTO, not SBF. Actually if you use telegram, you can gauge the percentage allocated to be around 12%-15% (can't recall the exact number). They're all the smaller queue numbers, so you can expect that queue number 1 is also them.
There's also MGPS for BTO, or now known as FCS (joint balloting). Also has a pool of units allocated to them, and can have a separate queue number 1. They'll also have small number. This is also transparent on the HDB website, also the information can be confusing. I applied under this scheme for BTO and I was the first to select. My queue number is a single digit.
Now those are all for BTOs only. For SBF, those two scheme don't apply. Does that mean that grassroots cannot apply? No. They can apply as a public queue. Unlike BTO, they don't have a set of units allocated to them, they don't need to serve an additional year when they secure an SBF flat, and they don't have a guaranteed small queue number.
It's not all transparent on the HDB website, but if you look outside of HWZ and the nonsense AI world, there are information online about it. Most of it is in telegram though.
The balloting process is already as transparent as it should be, but of course everyone will scream for full transparency even if they won't understand the process, which will cause more misunderstanding. For one, you already cannot differentiate between the BTO and SBF priority schemes. It's up to you if you believe in conspiracy theories though, but to me, it's easier to understand the process.
