KUALA LUMPUR, 01 June 2010 – Several prominent socialites have come out in support of Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam’s recent statements over animal testing. The Chief Minister had defended Indian company Vivo BioTech’s plans to build an animal testing medicine lab in Malacca, saying that God created monkeys and rats for experiments to benefit human beings.

Ali Rustam has received unexpected but enthusiastic support for his views from some of Malaysia’s most prominent and stylish socialites.

One of them, who spoke to TPT on conditions of anonymity, but who later changed her mind and wanted to be known only as “Simone”, as it sounded sexier, had this to say: “I don’t really follow local news as it can be soooo boring but this issue really spoke to my heart and I wanted to come out in support of Chief Minister Ali Rustam.”

“Simone” brandishing a victory sign

“I fully agree that animals were created by God so that they could benefit human beings. And not only just for medicinal purposes, but also for clothing and accessories. Our ancestors used to wear animal skins and till this day, we have carried on this tradition”, said Simone who went on to brandish her chic pink crocodile skin handbag to our TPT reporter.

When asked about her religious credentials, Simone chirped “Oh I don’t sit in [the church] all that often, maybe only for special occasions like Christmas but I do go down once every few months when I clear out my wardrobes of things that I’ve worn at least once and donate them to the church. Who says you can’t wear Prada when you’re poor?”