Correlative conjunctions work in pairs. One expression announces the first focus, and a matching expression introduces the second: baik … mahupun “both … and,” bukan sahaja … tetapi juga “not only … but also,” entah … entah “whether … or perhaps,” makin … makin “the more … the more,” and jangankan … pun “let alone … even.”
Their most important property is not vocabulary but parallel structure. The two slots should normally contain the same kind of unit—noun phrase with noun phrase, predicate with predicate, or clause with clause. The location of the pair also fixes focus: moving bukan sahaja from before a subject to before a verb changes what is being added. This page treats paired coordination and leaves conditional systems, multi-sentence discourse sequencing, and lexical preposition uses aside.
A structural overview
The following table contrasts balanced noun-phrase and clause-level structures. Brackets show the two slots; they are explanatory notation, not punctuation used in ordinary Malay.
| Pair | Balanced noun phrases | Balanced predicates or clauses |
|---|---|---|
| baik … mahupun | baik [guru] mahupun [ibu bapa] | baik [hadir sendiri] mahupun [menghantar wakil] |
| bukan sahaja … tetapi juga | bukan sahaja [kos] tetapi juga [masa] | bukan sahaja [menyemak data] tetapi juga [mengesahkan sumber] |
| entah … entah | entah [Selasa] entah [Rabu] | entah [dia terlupa] entah [mesej itu tidak sampai] |
| makin … makin | makin [banyak aduan], makin [besar tekanan] | makin [kami menunggu], makin [kami gelisah] |
| jangankan … pun | jangankan [kereta], [basikal] pun | jangankan [hendak membantu], [menjawab mesej] pun |
“Parallel” does not mean both halves must contain exactly the same number of words. It means they perform the same grammatical function in the larger sentence.
Baik … mahupun: including both alternatives
Malaysian standard uses baik … mahupun (neutral-formal/formal) to say that a statement applies equally to both members of a pair. Despite the English word “or” often appearing in translations, the construction is inclusive: neither member is excluded.
Baik guru mahupun ibu bapa perlu membaca garis panduan baharu itu.
Both teachers and parents need to read the new guidelines.
Perkhidmatan ini tersedia baik di bandar mahupun di kawasan luar bandar.
This service is available both in cities and in rural areas. (formal)
Notice the repeated di in the second example. Repetition makes the two location phrases visibly parallel. Omitting the second di can be possible in a short phrase, but repeating it is clearer in careful prose.
The slots may contain larger predicates:
Baik datang sendiri mahupun menghantar wakil, anda perlu membuat janji temu terlebih dahulu.
Whether you come in person or send a representative, you need to make an appointment first. (formal)
In Standard Malaysian Malay, spell the second member mahupun. Maupun is the neighboring Indonesian standard and appears in cross-border or Indonesian-influenced material; do not make it the default in a Malaysian guide.
Bukan sahaja … tetapi juga: adding a stronger second focus
Bukan sahaja … tetapi juga (neutral-formal/formal) denies a narrow expectation: the first item is true, but the statement extends to the second as well. The second member often feels additional, surprising, or more consequential.
Program itu bukan sahaja menjimatkan kos tetapi juga memendekkan masa menunggu.
The programme not only saves costs but also shortens waiting times.
Both slots are predicates: menjimatkan kos and memendekkan masa menunggu. If the focus is instead on participants, place the first marker before the first participant:
Bukan sahaja penyelia tetapi juga semua pembantu penyelidik perlu menandatangani borang itu.
Not only the supervisor but also all the research assistants must sign the form.
With two long clause-like halves, a comma can make the boundary easier to process:
Langkah itu bukan sahaja mengurangkan kesesakan di pusat bandar, tetapi juga membuka akses kepada kawasan yang sebelum ini sukar dicapai.
The measure not only reduces congestion in the city centre, but also opens access to areas that were previously hard to reach. (formal)
Malaysian also uses bukan sahaja … malah/malahan for additive escalation (formal). The neighboring Indonesian pattern tidak hanya … tetapi juga may be encountered in regional reading, but active Standard Malaysian usage normally prefers bukan sahaja … tetapi juga.
Focus placement matters:
Sara bukan sahaja membaca laporan itu tetapi juga menyuntingnya.
Sara not only read the report but also edited it. (two actions by Sara)
Bukan sahaja Sara tetapi juga Imran membaca laporan itu.
Not only Sara but also Imran read the report. (two readers)
The words are similar, but the paired slots are predicates in the first example and subjects in the second.
Entah … entah: unresolved possibilities
Entah … entah presents alternatives when the speaker does not know which is true (neutral spoken/written). It is less like a deliberate choice and more like “perhaps this, perhaps that.”
Entah Selasa, entah Rabu, mesyuarat itu akan diadakan minggu depan.
The meeting will be held next week, perhaps Tuesday, perhaps Wednesday.
Entah dia terlupa, entah mesej saya tidak sampai, saya pun tidak pasti.
Perhaps he forgot, or perhaps my message didn't arrive; I'm not sure.
Each entah has scope over one possibility. In the second example, both slots are complete clauses. A comma normally separates the paired possibilities, especially when each is long.
In conversational Malaysian Malay, a final saya pun tak pasti is natural (informal):
Entah dia terlupa, entah dia tak sempat balas, saya pun tak pasti.
Maybe she forgot, or maybe she didn't have time to reply; I'm not sure. (informal)
This construction reports uncertainty; it does not by itself build a full if–then condition.
Makin … makin: two changing scales
Makin … makin links two changes: as the degree or extent of the first increases, the second changes with it (neutral, especially spoken and general written language). Both halves describe evolving scales rather than static comparisons.
Makin lama kami menunggu, makin gelisah ibu.
The longer we waited, the more anxious Mum became.
Makin ramai orang menggunakan perkhidmatan itu, makin lama mereka terpaksa menunggu.
The more people use the service, the longer they have to wait.
Makin kerap dia berlatih, makin yakin dia bercakap di hadapan orang ramai.
The more often she practises, the more confidently she speaks in front of a crowd.
The two halves need not use comparative morphology equivalent to English -er. Their predicates and degree expressions retain their ordinary Malay forms; repeating makin establishes the proportional relation. Semakin … semakin is a slightly more formal alternative; see increasing degree.
The comma is appropriate because each makin half is clause-like and the first frames the second.
Jangankan … pun: a scale of improbability
Jangankan … pun (neutral; spoken and written) creates a scale. The jangankan item is the stronger, more ambitious, or less likely possibility; the item followed by separate pun is the lower benchmark that already fails. English often translates this as “let alone.”
Jangankan kereta, basikal pun dia belum mampu beli.
He can't even afford a bicycle, let alone a car.
Jangankan hendak membantu, menjawab mesej pun dia tidak mahu.
He wouldn't even answer a message, let alone help.
The order can feel reversed to an English speaker: Malay names the higher point first, then proves the claim with the lower point plus pun. There is no clean shortcut; learners must internalize that scalar direction.
In this construction, jangankan is one word, but the particle pun after the second focus is written separately:
Jangankan seminggu, sehari pun saya tidak sanggup menunggu.
I wouldn't be willing to wait even one day, let alone a week.
This spacing differs from lexicalized conjunctions such as walaupun and mahupun. Modern Rumi spelling is based on lexical status, not on the fact that all of them contain the sound sequence pun.
Parallelism and punctuation
Before writing a correlative, isolate the material in each slot:
baik [NOUN PHRASE] mahupun [NOUN PHRASE]
bukan sahaja [PREDICATE] tetapi juga [PREDICATE]
entah [CLAUSE], entah [CLAUSE]
makin [CLAUSE], makin [CLAUSE]
jangankan [FOCUS], [LOWER FOCUS] pun [PREDICATE]Short coordinated phrases usually need no comma: baik guru mahupun murid. Clause-like halves often benefit from a comma: makin lama kami menunggu, makin gelisah kami. The comma marks the syntactic boundary; it is not automatically inserted before every second member.
Common Mistakes
1. Mixing a noun phrase with a predicate
❌ Baik pelajar baharu mahupun menghadiri sesi orientasi perlu mendaftar.
Incorrect parallelism — pelajar baharu is a noun phrase, while menghadiri sesi orientasi is a predicate.
✅ Baik pelajar baharu mahupun pelajar lama perlu mendaftar.
Both new and returning students need to register.
2. Using the neighboring-standard spelling maupun
❌ Baik guru maupun ibu bapa dijemput hadir.
Not the Standard Malaysian form — maupun is the neighboring Indonesian standard.
✅ Baik guru mahupun ibu bapa dijemput hadir.
Both teachers and parents are invited to attend. (Standard Malaysian)
3. Letting the markers target different parts of the sentence
❌ Sara bukan sahaja menyemak borang tetapi juga laporan akhir.
Faulty balance for the intended two actions — menyemak borang is a predicate, while laporan akhir is only a noun phrase.
✅ Sara bukan sahaja menyemak borang tetapi juga menyediakan laporan akhir.
Sara not only checks the forms but also prepares the final report.
4. Joining free pun to the preceding word
❌ Jangankan membeli rumah, membayar sewa bilikpun dia belum mampu.
Incorrect spacing — the focus particle pun is separate here.
✅ Jangankan membeli rumah, membayar sewa bilik pun dia belum mampu.
He cannot even afford the rent on a room, let alone buy a house.
5. Reversing the scalar logic of jangankan
❌ Jangankan tambang bas, tiket penerbangan pun dia tidak mampu bayar.
Wrong scale — inability to pay for a flight does not prove inability to pay a bus fare.
✅ Jangankan tiket penerbangan, tambang bas pun dia tidak mampu bayar.
He cannot afford even the bus fare, let alone an airline ticket.
Key Takeaways
- Correlative markers define two focus slots; keep those slots structurally parallel.
- Standard Malaysian uses baik … mahupun and bukan sahaja … tetapi juga.
- Entah … entah presents unresolved possibilities; makin … makin correlates changing scales.
- In jangankan … pun, the first item is higher on the scale and free pun is written separately.
- Use commas for list or clause boundaries, not mechanically before every second correlative marker.
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Start learning Malay →Related Topics
- Rhetorical Parallelism and Balanced Clauses in Malaysian MalayC1 — Use repeated syntax, balanced correlatives, and controlled cadence in speeches, slogans, and formal argument.
- Increasing Degree with semakin, makin, and kian in Malaysian MalayB1 — Describe an evolving scale and correlate two changing scales with semakin, makin, kian, and bertambah.
- Order in Coordination and Shared Material in Malaysian MalayB2 — Learn when coordinated Malay phrases and clauses may share a subject, predicate, or complement—and when repeating material prevents ambiguity.
- pun: Even, Also, Indefiniteness, and ConcessionB1 — Use free pun for additive, scalar, indefinite, and free-choice meanings while joining it correctly in established conjunctions such as walaupun and bagaimanapun.
- Writing pun Separately and in Fixed Conjunctions in Malaysian MalayB1 — Distinguish productive, separately written pun from the small set of established Malaysian conjunctions written solid.
- atau: Alternatives and Reformulation in Malaysian MalayA2 — Use atau to offer choices, state policy options, mark scope, and reformulate without assuming that every alternative is exclusive.