By Azmi Anshar

SIMMERING on the Malaysian political backburner for 46 years was this issue that grated Malaysians in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak in particular: why has Sept 16 - the day in 1963 when Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore converged to become Malaysia - never made it as a deserving public holiday.

The answer to that may be highly complex but the more lucid inference tells that it was a question of parity' or the reluctance to accord it.

Over time, Sept 16 the anniversary became a rallying nexus, from defining the often vexing peninsula-Sabah/Sarawak relations to the so-called outlandish coup prattled by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last year that he had the numbers to take over the government on account of disgruntled Sabah members of parliament unhappy with the treatment by their peninsula brethren.

But all that is beginning to look pass' now after the prime minister announced yesterday in the Dewan Rakyat that Sept 16 will be a national public holiday from next year.

That startled and tickled MPs from Sabah and Sarawak: finally, the first measure of recognition of the two states that goes beyond stately subservience to one of equal partners.

All that posturing last year - lamentations of being mistreated and sharing the same bungalow but "sleeping" in the toilet - has caught traction and the personal attention of the prime minister, who saw the value of investing in co-opting Sabahans and Sarawakians rather than maintaining the 46-year status quo.

Actually, the inclusionary strategy was inaugurated almost before Najib assumed the premiership in April: the election of a Sabah Umno leader, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, as party vice-president was a vital moment and the subsequent appointments of Sabah and Sarawak leaders to more cabinet postings was a warm- up towards the Sept 16 holiday declaration.

However, what prompted Najib to push for this overdue policy decision is the new political reality: Sabah and Sarawak are huge blocs of reliable votes for the Barisan Nasional, even during testing times and even more when Pakatan Rakyat ran rampant in the March 8 general election. And politicians from both sides of the divide know it too well.

Previously, and that stretched back to 1963, Peninsular Malaysia's ties with Sabah and Sarawak axiomatically hinged on the 20-Point Agreement that allows the two states to control, in particular, immigration flow: a contentious point for those from the peninsula who must produced their identity cards or passports when entering either state but none of the red tape when Malaysians from across the South China Sea enter the peninsula.

Also, Malaysians from the peninsula wanting to extend commercial, social or governance interests face legal hurdles.

These blockades aren't likely to collapse anytime soon but Najib's embracing gesture, part of the all-encompassing nature of his 1Malaysia socio-political movement, would certainly ease up access and at least boost mutual cooperation and understanding to new levels.

A Sept 16 celebration akin to National Day is on the cards, likely to start in Sabah, followed by Sarawak and then the peninsula on a rotational basis. That's the start the three sides are looking to bask in from the new fruits of familial love.