Outraged authorities in mainly Muslim Malaysia have fined a music promoter for organising a concert by US pop group Pussycat Dolls that was considered too raunchy, a report said today.

A municipality council with authority over the concert venue south of Kuala Lumpur said the Malaysian organiser, Absolute Entertainment, had been fined RM10,000 (US$2,726) for breaching a state entertainment act.

"The Pussycat Dolls were guilty of performing sexually suggestive routines on stage," council president Mohamad Arif Abdul Rahman was quoted as saying in the Malay Mail tabloid.

"In terms of their eye-popping attire, well, there's a lot of proof from that from our sources and the media," Mohamad Arif said.

The six-woman group, known for their skimpy mid-riff bearing costumes and provocative choreography, appear regularly on music channels MTV and Channel V, and have a growing fan base in Southeast Asia.

No eye on proceedings

Malaysia's Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim has reportedly criticised the council for failing to monitor the July 26 concert, and Mohamad Arif admitted no officials had been sent to keep an eye on proceedings.

"That was a mistake on our part and that was all the organiser needed to take advantage of the situation," he said.

"We will tighten our enforcement practice from now on. We can't afford to allow these things to happen again," he said.

Conservative Muslims in Malaysia regularly express outrage over rock concerts which are deemed overly sexual and immoral.

The government last year shelved proposals from a state Islamic authority for live music concerts to conform to Islamic customs, including separate seating areas for males and females.