KUALA LUMPUR: Two simple pieces of clean underwear changed the course of Daniel Lew’s life.
They were not headline-grabbing gifts but when handed to him inside the overcrowded, dehumanising confines of the then-Pudu Prison, they restored something fragile yet vital – his sense of self-worth.
That small act set him on a decades-long mission to help men leaving prison, often with few options and many barriers to rebuilding their lives.
Now 73, Lew runs the faith-based Second Chance Community Home in Kuala Lumpur which has helped over 300 former prisoners and recovering addicts reintegrate into society.
His own journey was turbulent – having worked in insurance and car rental, economic pressures and personal mistakes led to his arrest in 1987.
At Pudu Prison, he endured overcrowded cells, poor sanitation, dim lighting, bucket toilets and a system that stripped inmates of their identities.
Upon his release in 1989, he tried to rejoin the workforce but his criminal record proved a barrier.
Instead, he volunteered with Malaysian Care – the NGO that had given him the underwear in prison – delivering aid to prisoners’ families.
After more than a decade in prison outreach and leadership roles, he founded Second Chance Community Home in 2008 to help others rebuild their lives.
“They came from many backgrounds – former prisoners, ex-graduates from Pusat Serenti and others in need.
“They knew my work and came asking for help,” he said.
The home offers a structured, supportive environment to guide men from incarceration towards meaningful citizenship. Residents are often referred through the Licensed Prisoner Release programme which allows selected inmates to serve part of their sentence under supervised community release.
The facility houses up to 15 residents at a time who tend vegetable patches, assist with maintenance and support one another as they navigate life outside prison.
“The environment is very important,” Lew said.
“When they come here, it’s already different. Many fail not because they don’t want to change but because they don’t have support.
“Some return to places where temptation is everywhere. How are they supposed to survive like that?”
Despite its impact, the home operates on limited resources, relying largely on personal networks and quiet donors rather than large fundraising drives. That could change next year, said Lew.
Under the Budget 2026, RM15 million was allocated for the Madani Second Chance initiative to help vulnerable groups like ex-drug addicts, single mothers and scam victims rebuild their lives, providing support, start-up incentives and faster pathways to recovery,
Malaysia’s prison system has long struggled with overcrowding and high recidivism.
Recent figures put the national recidivism rate at 16% – below the global benchmark of 20%, but still a significant social challenge.
Programmes supporting inmates’ transition back into the community have shown strong results. Some community-based reintegration initiatives report re-offending rates as low as one in 800 participants, while halfway homes and parole programmes boast high success rates.
Yet even with these gains, ex-prisoners face daunting barriers – stigma, employer bias, unstable housing, fractured family ties and limited emotional support – which is why, for Lew, Second Chance is more than just a halfway home.
