GEORGE TOWN (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A Hindu priest at a famous temple in Malaysia has been sacked for allowing a devotee to bring a dog into the premises.

The local priest at the 160-year-old Nattukotai Chettiar Temple in Waterfall Road was sacked immediately by the temple trustees last Wednesday after a video of the incident went viral.

The footage showed the woman performing the pooja with the dog tagging along. The priest was seen conducting prayers next to her.

Temple trustee Dr A. Narayanan said he viewed the matter seriously.

"It is a desecration of the holy temple.

"The priest should have stopped the devotee from bringing in the dog. We believed it has happened several times before," he said.

Hindudharma Mamandram national deputy president V. Nanda Kumar said it was sacrilegious to allow a dog into the temple.