“This is not surprising as we expected them to do so (to appeal),” lawyer Latheefa Koya said.

She said her client had also filed an appeal to quash the sentence and conviction.

On Sept 28, Sessions Court Judge Zulqarnain Hassan sentenced Chua to three months’ jail and fined him RM1,800 after he was found guilty of the charge.

The sentence meted out means the PKR vice-president retained his parliamentary seat and can contest in the coming polls as it is below the one-year jail and RM2,000 fine threshold.

The Sedition Act provides for a maximum fine of RM5,000 or jail term of up to three years or both.

Chua was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act on May 29, 2013 for allegedly uttering seditious words.

He made the speech at the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall, shortly after the general election that year.

Zulqarnain ruled the prosecution had proven the charge against Chua beyond reasonable doubt and the accused had a “tendency to utter seditious words with the intent of toppling a democratically elected government”.