Authorities in Kelantan, the northeastern state of Malaysia have warned women working at retail outlets to not to wear revealing and body-hugging clothes. Any defiance would cost them $138 in fine, a news report said Tuesday.

According to the report, the municipal council at Kota Baru, the capital of Kelantan, said it will no longer tolerate indecent dressing.

Kelantan is the only state in mostly Muslim Malaysia that is ruled by an opposition Islamic fundamentalist party. All other Malaysian states are governed by the secular United Malays National Organization and its allies.

The existing Islamic bylaw considers body-snugging outfits, blouses that show the navel, see-through blouses, miniskirts and tight pants indecent dressing. The regulation prohibits all Muslim and non-Muslim women from wearing the mentioned dresses at work.

"Such outfits are prohibited here as it smears the reputation of Kota Baru and affects its status as an Islamic City," Kota Baru Municipal Council spokesman Mohammed Azman Daham was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying.

Daham said the regulation, which mandates a $138 fine on violators, had not been enforced strictly. "But now, MPKB will no longer tolerate skimpy outfits," he said, citing "mounting complaints from the public."

However, the announcement has outraged several women's organizations, the paper said.

"I would like to know what is the (acceptable) level of tightness of a pair of pants or jeans, and what happens to those of us who have larger buttocks?" Ivy Josiah, executive director of Women's Aid Organization, was quoted as saying.