Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.

That complicated problem is discussed at the family meeting.

Breakdown of Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.

• itu: that
• di: at
• rapat keluarga: the family meeting
• masalah: the problem

Questions & Answers about Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.

Why does the sentence use dibahas instead of membahas?

Dibahas is the passive form, while membahas is active.

• membahas = to discuss (active)

  • Kami membahas masalah rumit itu.
    We discussed that complicated problem.

• dibahas = is/was discussed (passive)

  • Masalah rumit itu dibahas di rapat keluarga.
    That complicated problem was discussed at the family meeting.

In Indonesian, the passive often:

• Puts focus on the object (masalah rumit itu).
• Leaves the doer (subject) unstated or less important.

So the sentence highlights the problem itself, not who discussed it.

How do we know this sentence is past tense if there is no tense marker?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Dibahas itself is tenseless; it can mean:

• is being discussed
• was discussed
• will be discussed (in some contexts)

The time is understood from context or from extra words, e.g.:

• tadi (earlier), kemarin (yesterday) → past
• sekarang (now) → present
• nanti (later), besok (tomorrow) → future

So:

• Masalah rumit itu tadi dibahas di rapat keluarga.
  Clearly past: That complicated problem was discussed earlier at the family meeting.

Without a time word, an English speaker usually translates it as past if the wider context suggests a completed event.

What exactly does itu refer to, and why is it placed after ?