This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 9, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar must make a strong stand against the detention of Matthias Chang under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), his lawyer said.

Mohamad Rafique said Chang’s detention must be condemned as lawyers should not be arrested for merely doing their job, which is acting on behalf of their clients.

“The Malaysian Bar should take a very strong stand. I call upon Steven Thiru, [the] bar president, [and] I call upon council members to take a very strong stand.

“Lawyers must not work with fear and favour; lawyers should not be penalised for dispensing their duties.

“Why arrest a lawyer? It doesn’t make sense,” he told reporters outside the Dang Wangi police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Chang, who is the lawyer of detained former Umno branch leader Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan, was the second person arrested under Sosma.

In a text message to The Malaysian Insider, Chang said he was arrested at the Dang Wangi police headquarters yesterday afternoon.

The former political aide to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was detained under Section 124K and 124L of the Penal Code that deal with sabotage and attempting to sabotage the state respectively.

Under Sosma, a suspect can be held for up to 29 days.

Chang also declared that he had started a hunger strike to fight for justice, truth and honour. — The Malaysian Insider