The recent invitation by the chief minister of Malacca Mohd Ali Rustam to animal lovers and activists for a dialogue session with regards to the setting up of an animal testing laboratory in Malacca which will undertake trials for the treatment of diabetes and cancer is an appropriate move and I welcome it.

The use of animals in experiments has always been a very sensitive and emotional issue all over the civilised world, as such it is natural for animal lovers to voice their concern and unhappiness over the lack of information surrounding the proposed animal testing facility in Malacca.

Their fears and concerns are further heightened when insensitive and somewhat crude remarks are put forward to defend the setting up the animal testing laboratory.

It is indeed heartening to note that the chief minister of Malacca, despite his somewhat uncompromising stance previously on the subject, is now prepared to listen to the views of our animal lovers. Kudos to Mohd Ali Rustam for his timely gesture. It speaks well of our PM's ‘1Malaysia’ policy where ‘rakyat didahukukan’.

I am sure animal lovers, activists and other interested parties in the country will be looking forward to meeting the chief minister to put forward their views on the animal testing laboratory which has attracted international attention.

I don't think animal lovers are simply making a fuss over the issue as claimed by the chief minister. Animal lovers are expressing their genuine concerns with regards to the welfare of the animals which will be subjected to various experiments later. The current regulations related to animal welfare in the country, such as the 1953 Animal Ordinance, are simply outdated.

Animal lovers are concerned that in the absence of adequate and specific regulatory instruments, it will be difficult to monitor and prevent the abuse and unnecessary infliction of pain and sufferings on these animals. Furthermore, animal lovers are concerned that multinational biomedical and pharmaceutical companies may take advantage of our toothless laws and lack of enforcement.

It is imperative with the current development that we should consider the setting up a National Animal Ethics Committee (NAEC) to streamline all animal experiments. Among others, the NAEC or its agents should have legal powers to regulate and monitor all aspects of animal experiments in the country especially with regards to commercial or contract-based animal experiments.

The committee should ensure that the animals are housed, bred and experimented upon in ‘ideal’ conditions. Only laboratories that have been internationally-recognised and with good lab practices (GLP) certification should be allowed to conduct animal experiments.

I am aware that the use of animals in some experiments is inevitable for pharmaceutical and medical science research. Although animal activists have suggested the use of artificial mediums or stem cells etc instead of using live animals for experiments, unfortunately, according to some scientists these artificial mediums are not suitable or reliable.

To find a cure for some of the debilitating and fatal diseases that afflict humans, the use of animals and even humans in drug trial experiments cannot be avoided altogether.

I hope the upcoming meeting of animal lovers and activists with the chief minister of Malacca will be constructive and productive and will be focused upon finding a solution in which the welfare of both animals and humans are given equal consideration.