An editorial contrasts the second chances given to ministers with the unforgiving reality for Malaysian families facing rising costs and no margin for error.
SECOND chances are often spoken of as humane, even forgiving and noble – a belief that people can learn, adjust and do better with time.
In Malaysia, those chances can sometimes appear to flow more readily towards those already established, supported by position, income and institutional security.
This week’s Cabinet reshuffle was presented as a preference for continuity over disruption. Several ministers were retained and afforded more time – an opportunity to recalibrate. The language surrounding the decision was careful, even conciliatory.
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For many ordinary Malaysians, however, that same sense of latitude can feel less accessible.
As a mother, there is no easy way to “reset” a month when prices rise faster than pay. Responsibilities cannot be reshuffled when school fees, therapy sessions, groceries and transport arrive together. There is no grace period when the rice container runs low sooner than expected or vegetables begin to slip quietly out of the shopping basket because they have edged from staples into luxuries.
Second chances, it appears, have become a privilege.
At home, accountability is immediate. A miscalculation in the budget is felt in real time – in smaller portions, postponed plans and harder conversations. There is no press conference explaining why the month fell apart, no talking points, no spokesperson. And parents don’t receive extensions.
My son is 10. He is old enough to notice when things change – when outings become less frequent and snacks turn into occasional treats. My daughter is seven and autistic. Her world depends on routine, predictability and services that are already stretched thin. Therapy cannot be postponed indefinitely. Support cannot wait for “the next quarter”.
Every decision carries weight. Every misstep has a cost. So, when leaders speak of second chances, it is difficult not to wonder who ultimately bears the burden of that patience.
For struggling families, there is little margin for error – miss a bill and penalties follow; lose a job and recovery is slow and unforgiving; say the wrong thing at work and there may be no redemption narrative to soften the fall.
We are asked to be resilient – to adapt, to tighten our belts, to accept that governing is complex. Complexity, however, does not absolve detachment. When ministers are afforded more time, more space and greater trust, it can signal that consequences are flexible and accountability is negotiable.
This is not a call for perfection from those in power. No one governs without error. But second chances should be paired with something tangible – clarity, benchmarks and visible course correction.
In everyday Malaysian life, performance assessments are often unforgiving. You deliver or you don’t. You cope or you fall behind. There is little narrative cushion and rarely the benefit of the doubt. Parents understand this instinctively. Mothers, perhaps, most of all.
We do mental arithmetic all day – calculating costs, risks and emotional bandwidth. We adjust meals and schedules and recalibrate expectations. We stretch ourselves thin because there is little alternative. Our missteps are private but their consequences are felt publicly within our homes.
And yet, the system rarely bends our way. When prices rise, we are told global factors are at play. When services falter, we are reminded that reform takes time. When policies stall, we are asked for patience. But patience is often demanded from those who can least afford it.
A second chance is meaningful only if the first misstep is acknowledged honestly. It matters only if real improvement is visible. Otherwise, it risks becoming a shield – protecting power from scrutiny while asking the rest of the country to carry on regardless.
Malaysia does not lack talent. It does not lack hardworking families. What it sometimes lacks is balance – in empathy, in accountability, in who is asked to endure discomfort in the name of “stability”.
Second chances should not be an exclusive privilege. While ministers are given time to recalibrate, mothers are already doing the recalibration – quietly, steadily, without applause – ensuring that, despite everything, their children still feel safe in a country that often asks them to wait.
And waiting, as every parent knows, is far easier when you are not the one holding everything together.
Hashini Kavishtri Kannan is the assistant news editor at theSun.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
