big trouble in catholic malaysia

In the wake of a series of recent rows in Malaysia over religion and diversity ( [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] ), there has been uproar after the government recently decreed that the word 'Allah' - the word for God in the Malay language - can only be used by Muslims [6]. Apparently oblivious to the fact that Christian use of the Arabic word predates the birth of Islam, senior official Che Din Yusoff of the Malaysian government defended its actions: "Christians cannot use the word Allah. It is only applicable to Muslims. Allah is only for the Muslim god. This is a design to confuse the Muslim people," [7]. He instructed non-Muslims to use the word 'tuhan', which is a more general term for god. What right does the Malaysian government have to seize a word of foreign origin and make it their own, especially in such a diverse nation? Why is it such an important issue - to both sides?