Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Ringkasan kebijakan baru dibagikan oleh sang guru. - A summary of the new policy is distributed by the teacher.

The patient (the thing affected) becomes the subject and comes before the verb.
The agent (the doer) is optional and, if mentioned, is usually introduced by oleh.

So this sentence literally corresponds to:
“The summary of the new policy was distributed by the teacher.”

How would you say this sentence in the active voice, and what’s the nuance difference?

Active equivalent:

Sang guru membagikan ringkasan kebijakan baru.
or more neutral:
Guru membagikan ringkasan kebijakan baru.

Structure in active:

Sang guru / Guru = subject (doer)
membagikan = active verb “to distribute”
ringkasan kebijakan baru = object

Nuance difference:

Passive (original): Focuses on the summary (the thing distributed). The doer is less central, more “background”.
Active: Focuses on the teacher as the one performing the action.

Indonesian uses both forms a lot, but passive is very common in formal or written contexts, especially when the object is the main topic.

What exactly does dibagikan mean, and how is it formed from the base word?

dibagikan comes from the root bagi.

bagi = to divide, to share
bagikan = to distribute / to share something out (transitive, takes an object)
di- + bagikan = dibagikan = “to be distributed”, “to be given out” (passive form)

So dibagikan literally means “is/was distributed / shared out.”

Compare:

Guru membagikan fotokopi. = The teacher distributes photocopies. (active)
Fotokopi dibagikan (oleh guru). = The photocopies are distributed (by the teacher). (passive)

Also note the difference:

dibagi = divided (into parts), or shared, but usually emphasizing division (e.g. kue itu dibagi menjadi empat – the cake is divided into four).
dibagikan = distributed to people (emphasis on distribution to recipients).

Is oleh necessary here? Can we omit oleh sang guru?

oleh introduces the agent (the one doing the action) in a passive sentence.

Full form: Ringkasan kebijakan baru dibagikan oleh sang guru.
Without the agent: Ringkasan kebijakan baru dibagikan.

Both are grammatically correct.

If the doer is important or new information, you include oleh + agent.
If the doer is obvious, unimportant, or you want to keep it vague, you omit it.

In everyday Indonesian, dropping the oleh + agent is very common:

Tugas sudah dikumpulkan. = The assignments have been submitted.
(no need to say “by the students” if it’s obvious)

What does sang in sang guru mean, and when do you use it?

sang is a kind of honorific or literary article used before a noun, usually referring to a person (or sometimes an animal treated like a character).

sang guru = the teacher, with a respectful or literary nuance
It can give a slightly elevated, story-like, or formal tone.

Compare:

guru = teacher (neutral)
guru itu = that teacher / the teacher (specific)
sang guru = the teacher, with a hint of respect, often in writing, stories, or formal text.

You would not normally use sang in casual speech about ordinary people:

Casual: Guru membagikan ringkasan kebijakan baru.
Formal/literary: Sang guru membagikan ringkasan kebijakan baru.

In ringkasan kebijakan baru, what modifies what? Does baru describe the summary or the policy?

Phrase: ringkasan kebijakan baru

Indonesian noun phrase order is generally:

Head noun + modifiers (including adjectives)

Here:

ringkasan = summary (head)
kebijakan = policy (noun modifying ringkasan, like “summary of policy”)
baru = new (adjective)

Because baru comes after kebijakan, it most naturally describes kebijakan:

kebijakan baru = new policy
ringkasan kebijakan baru = summary of the new policy

If you wanted to emphasize that the summary is new (not the policy), you might say:

ringkasan baru tentang kebijakan itu = a new summary of that policy
or
ringkasan kebijakan yang baru can be ambiguous but often still read as “summary of the new policy” unless context clarifies.

Could I say ringkasan dari kebijakan baru instead of ringkasan kebijakan baru? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Ringkasan dari kebijakan baru dibagikan oleh sang guru.

Differences:

ringkasan kebijakan baru
- More compact, more common in formal written Indonesian.
- Uses a noun–noun compound style: “policy-summary” (of the new policy).
ringkasan dari kebijakan baru
- Adds the preposition dari (“from/of”), a bit more explicit.
- Stylistically slightly heavier, sometimes used to avoid ambiguity or for clarity in speech.

Both are correct and mean “summary of the new policy.” The version without dari is often preferred in concise written style.

What exactly does kebijakan mean, and how is it related to bijak?

bijak = wise
ke- … -an is a common affix pair forming nouns.

So in a purely morphological sense:

kebijakan could mean “the state of being wise” (abstract noun)
but in modern usage, kebijakan very commonly means “policy” (especially government or organizational policies).

For “wisdom” in everyday Indonesian, kebijaksanaan is more common:

kebijaksanaan = wisdom
kebijakan = policy (in most contemporary contexts)

In the sentence, kebijakan clearly = policy, not “wisdom.”

Is there any tense marker in dibagikan? How do we know if this is past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (no conjugation like English).

dibagikan simply indicates passive voice, not time.

To show time, Indonesian uses context or time adverbs:

Past:
- Ringkasan kebijakan baru tadi pagi dibagikan oleh sang guru.
  = The summary of the new policy was distributed this morning by the teacher.
Present / habitual:
- Setiap awal semester, ringkasan kebijakan baru dibagikan oleh sang guru.
  = At the start of every semester, the summary of the new policy is distributed by the teacher.
Future:
- Besok, ringkasan kebijakan baru akan dibagikan oleh sang guru.
  = Tomorrow, the summary of the new policy will be distributed by the teacher.

Without extra words, Ringkasan kebijakan baru dibagikan oleh sang guru is neutral and can be interpreted according to context.

What’s the relationship between membagikan, membagi, and dibagikan?

Root: bagi (divide, share)

Common forms:

membagi
- Active verb: to divide, to share something (often into parts).
- Guru membagi kelas menjadi beberapa kelompok.
  The teacher divides the class into several groups.
membagikan
- Active verb: to distribute something to people. Often suggests giving out distinct units to recipients.
- Guru membagikan kertas ujian.
  The teacher distributes the exam papers.
dibagikan
- Passive: to be distributed (to people).
- Kertas ujian dibagikan (oleh guru).
  The exam papers are / were distributed (by the teacher).

In your sentence, dibagikan is used because the structure is passive and the focus is on the summary.

How would a more casual or everyday version of this sentence look?

Several more casual versions are possible, depending on how informal you want to be:

Neutral informal:
Guru membagikan ringkasan kebijakan baru.
(Drop sang and passive, use active.)
Slightly more conversational:
Guru bagi-bagi ringkasan kebijakan baru.
(Reduplication bagi-bagi gives a casual “handing out” feel.)
Very casual (spoken):
Tadi guru bagi ringkasan kebijakan baru.
(Drops me-, no passive, adds tadi for past.)

The original sentence with sang guru and passive dibagikan sounds more formal or written than these.