KLANG: PKR sources say Fahmi Fadzil, the Lembah Pantai MP, will probably be named the PKR candidate to contest the Seri Setia by-election.

Update: Fahmi: I am not vacating Lembah Pantai

The source said the plan was for Fahmi to vacate his current Lembah Pantai seat to make way for PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to contest and gain entry into Parliament.

"The talk is that Fahmi will also be appointed as a state executive councillor," said the source.

Another probable candidate, said the source, was former Petaling Jaya City Hall councilor Halimey Abu Bakar.

"There were initially some issues, so Halimey's proposed candidacy was a little shaky," said the source.

The source added that there was further talks to have Fahmi as the Seri Setia candidate instead.

Halimey is regarded as a strong supporter of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali.

The Seri Setia state seat fell vacant after incumbent assemblyman and Selangor executive councillor Prof Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin passed away on Aug 2 after a battle with cancer.

Dr Shaharuddin, 56, a PKR vice- president, was the chairman of the Selangor Islamic Affairs and Selangor Education and Human Capital Development Committee in the state exco.

Deputy Prime Minister and former PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is scheduled to announce the candidate and launch the by-election machinery at Desa Mentari on Thursday evening (Aug 16).

Purdue University graduate Fahmi, 37, who is the PKR communications director, was a theatre and performing arts personality before he became a politician.

The PKR candidate for Seri Setia will face off with PAS' Dr Halimah Ali, the former Selat Klang assemblyman. She was also an exco member in the Selangor state government after the 2008 general election.

She narrowly lost the Selat Klang seat by 500 votes to Selangor Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chief Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari in the recent general election.

This story has been updated with additional information