In a surprising move, a High Court judge in Kuala Lumpur today issued an arrest warrant against Batu MP and PKR vice-president Chua Tian Chang for failure to show up in court for his appeal of a sedition conviction.

Neither Tian Chua nor his counsel attended the first mention of his appeal before the court as of 4pm today, leading Justice Sofian Abd Razak to issue the warrant.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Zain Ibrahim appeared for the prosecution.

In September last year, Tian Chua was found guilty of sedition over remarks made at a 2013 forum held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall soon after the 13th general election.

He was sentenced to three months’ jail and fined RM1,800.

Tian Chua is appealing against the conviction and sentence, while the prosecution is appealing for a harsher sentence.

The maximum sentence that can be meted is three years' jail, or an RM5,000 fine, or both.

Under the Federal Constitution, MPs automatically lose their seats if they are jailed more than a year or fined over RM2,000, and will be rendered ineligible to stand for office for a period of five years.

Malaysiakini is attempting to contact Tian Chua for a response.