Public Notice: Rules in a Strata Residence

A public notice in a Malaysian strata residence must make the rule, the people affected, and any exception easy to find. Formal wording can do this efficiently, but formality does not require hostility. The two fictional notices below regulate exactly the same invented residence; the first is (formal/bureaucratic) and the second is a friendlier resident-facing rewrite.

The complete fictional notice

PANGSAPURI SERI DAMAI
NOTIS PENGGUNAAN KEMUDAHAN BERSAMA

1. Penghuni hendaklah menggunakan kad akses sendiri apabila memasuki gimnasium atau dewan serbaguna.
2. Merokok, termasuk penggunaan rokok elektronik, dilarang di semua ruang dalaman dan di kawasan kolam renang.
3. Sila pastikan pintu keselamatan ditutup selepas anda melaluinya.
4. Kanak-kanak yang berumur di bawah 12 tahun hendaklah ditemani oleh orang dewasa ketika menggunakan kolam renang.
5. Barangan peribadi yang ditinggalkan di koridor boleh dialihkan oleh pihak pengurusan demi keselamatan.

6. Kecuali dalam keadaan kecemasan, dewan serbaguna tidak boleh digunakan selepas pukul 10.00 malam.

   Kerjasama semua penghuni amat dihargai.
   Pihak Pengurusan Pangsapuri Seri Damai

This notice is constructed for the guide; Pangsapuri Seri Damai is an invented residence, not a real management body's policy.

Force-preserving English translation

NOTICE ON THE USE OF SHARED FACILITIES

1. Residents must use their own access cards when entering the gym or multipurpose hall.
2. Smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, is prohibited in all indoor spaces and in the swimming-pool area.
3. Please ensure that the safety door is closed after you pass through it.
4. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult when using the swimming pool.
5. Personal belongings left in corridors may be removed by management for safety.
6. Except in an emergency, the multipurpose hall must not be used after 10:00 p.m.

The bold English choices preserve modal force. Translating hendaklah as “might like to,” or dilarang as “is discouraged,” would turn a rule into advice. Conversely, sila is a polite directive, not automatically a legal prohibition.

hendaklah states formal obligation

Hendaklah is common in rules, instructions, agreements, and official notices. It directs the subject to perform the following action. The form is related to hendak, but here it does not simply express a resident's desire. The rule comes from the institution.

This sentence combines hendaklah with passive ditemani. The children are the regulated group, so they appear first. Oleh orang dewasa names the required companion. In a direct parent-facing version, the management could write Ibu bapa dan penjaga hendaklah menemani kanak-kanak..., which makes the responsible adult the grammatical subject.

dilarang marks a prohibition

Merokok names the prohibited activity, and dilarang states that it is forbidden. The notice does not need a personal subject equivalent to English you. This activity-first form lets a reader identify the prohibited behavior immediately.

The nominalization penggunaan packages “using” as the subject of the rule. It suits compact signage, though ordinary resident communication can be more direct: Jangan gunakan rokok elektronik di kawasan kolam renang. Both prohibit the action; their interpersonal tone and grammatical packaging differ.

sila gives a polite directive

Sila + verb is a conventional public instruction. It tells readers what to do but presents the action as orderly cooperation rather than punishment. Ditutup is passive because the desired result—the closed door—matters more than the identity of the person closing it.

This friendlier alternative can replace hendaklah menggunakan when management wants a courteous instruction. However, context determines whether readers still understand it as mandatory. For a safety-critical or legally enforceable rule, hendaklah or an explicit prohibition may make force clearer.

Passives foreground the regulated object

Two passive forms appear. Yang ditinggalkan di koridor identifies which belongings are affected; boleh dialihkan gives management permission or authority to move them. Oleh pihak pengurusan matters because it names who may act.

This is not the same as a promise that every item will be moved. Boleh means “may/can,” and the actual action depends on circumstances. Nor does the sentence say that management may discard the item. A notice should not silently expand dialihkan “moved” into dibuang “thrown away.”

This alternative is even more impersonal. Selepas digunakan omits the user because any user is included. The original selepas anda melaluinya is friendlier and more concrete for A2 readers.

kecuali defines the boundary of a rule

The initial kecuali phrase narrows the prohibition. The rule applies after 10:00 p.m.; a genuine emergency is the stated exception. Moving the exception to the end is also grammatical: Dewan serbaguna tidak boleh digunakan selepas pukul 10.00 malam, kecuali dalam keadaan kecemasan. The final position can make the exception more prominent.

Here kecuali excludes one noun phrase rather than introducing a circumstance. The same linker therefore can mark an excepted item or an excepted condition. See exceptive linkers for the wider pattern.

Nominalizations compress institutional topics

The notice contains penggunaan “use,” keselamatan “safety,” pengurusan “management,” and kerjasama “cooperation.” These nouns allow institutions to name recurring activities or responsibilities without writing a full clause every time.

In a resident-facing message, a verb may be easier: Apabila anda menggunakan kemudahan bersama, patuhi peraturan keselamatan. Neither is inherently more accurate. The nominal version is compact and institutional; the verbal version directly addresses an action.

Malaysian formal wording commonly uses pihak pengurusan for the management body. The abstract noun pengelolaan is strongly associated with Indonesian institutional usage in many contexts; it should not be imported automatically as a more formal replacement. Terminology must follow Malaysian practice and the residence's actual legal documents.

A friendlier resident-facing rewrite

Mari Jaga Kemudahan Kita Bersama-sama

Demi keselamatan dan keselesaan bersama, sila gunakan kad akses anda sendiri untuk masuk ke gimnasium atau dewan serbaguna. Merokok, termasuk menggunakan rokok elektronik, tetap dilarang di ruang dalaman dan kawasan kolam renang. Selepas melalui pintu keselamatan, sila pastikan pintu itu tertutup.

Jika kanak-kanak berumur di bawah 12 tahun menggunakan kolam renang, mereka mesti ditemani oleh orang dewasa. Jangan tinggalkan barangan peribadi di koridor; demi keselamatan, pihak pengurusan boleh mengalihkannya. Dewan serbaguna tidak boleh digunakan selepas pukul 10.00 malam, kecuali dalam keadaan kecemasan.

Terima kasih kerana membantu menjaga kediaman kita.

The rewrite uses inclusive kita, gives reasons early, and alternates sila, jangan, mesti, and tidak boleh. Crucially, it does not remove the prohibition on smoking, the adult-accompaniment requirement, or the time restriction.

The opening purpose phrase explains why before the directive. Jangan is direct but not necessarily rude in a safety notice. A friendly tone comes from reasons, inclusive framing, thanks, and clear action—not from weakening every rule.

Common Mistakes

1. Weakening a prohibition in translation

2. Treating hendaklah as personal desire

3. Making every formal sentence punitive

4. Losing the scope of an exception

Key Takeaways

Hendaklah imposes formal obligation, dilarang prohibits, and sila packages a polite directive. Passives keep the regulated object visible, kecuali marks the boundary of a rule, and nominalizations create compact institutional topics. A friendlier notice can use reasons, inclusive kita, and thanks while preserving exactly who must do what and which exceptions genuinely apply.