Jawatankuasa itu memilih pengerusi.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini and itu usually come after the noun.

• jawatankuasa itu = that committee / the committee
• pengerusi itu = that chairperson / the chairperson

This is normal Malay word order. So unlike English, you do not say itu jawatankuasa in a basic noun phrase like this.

Itu literally often means that, but in many sentences it can also work a lot like the, especially when the noun is already known or specific from context.

So Jawatankuasa itu can mean:

• that committee
• the committee

Which one sounds best in English depends on context.

Malay does not have articles like a, an, and the in the same way English does.

So pengerusi by itself can mean:

• a chairperson
• the chairperson
• just chairperson as a role

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, jawatankuasa itu is clearly specific because of itu, but pengerusi is left unmarked. That is very natural in Malay.

Yes, this sentence follows the basic Subject–Verb–Object order:

• Jawatankuasa itu = subject
• memilih = verb
• pengerusi = object

So it is structured like:

• The committee chose a/the chairperson

This is one reason Malay word order often feels quite familiar to English speakers.

Pilih is the root word meaning choose/select.
Memilih is the usual active verb form made with the meN- prefix.

So:

• pilih = root
• memilih = to choose / chooses / chose, depending on context

In formal standard Malay, when the verb has a direct object, the meN- form is very common:

• Jawatankuasa itu memilih pengerusi.

This is more grammatical and complete than using the bare root in standard writing.

No. Malay verbs do not normally change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So memilih can mean:

• chooses
• chose
• is choosing
• will choose

The time usually comes from context or from time words such as:

• semalam = yesterday
• sekarang = now
• esok = tomorrow
• sudah = already
• akan = will

Without extra context, memilih is simply choose/chooses/chose depending on the situation.

Here, jawatankuasa is singular: committee.

In Malay, nouns do not automatically change form the way English sometimes does. If you need to make plurality clear, Malay can do it in several ways, for example:

• jawatankuasa-jawatankuasa = committees
• beberapa jawatankuasa = several committees

But often context is enough.

No. Pengerusi means chairperson, chairman, or committee chair.

The furniture chair is kerusi.

So:

• kerusi = chair
• pengerusi = chairperson

They look somewhat similar, so learners often mix them up.

Usually no. Pengerusi is commonly used as a gender-neutral term for the person leading a meeting, committee, or organization.

Depending on context, it may be translated as:

• chairperson
• chair
• sometimes chairman

But in Malay itself, pengerusi does not usually mark gender.

No, the meaning would change.

• Jawatankuasa itu memilih pengerusi.
  = That/The committee chose a chairperson.

• Jawatankuasa memilih pengerusi itu.
  = The committee chose that/the chairperson.

So itu describes the noun that comes before it. Its position matters.

Yes. This is very common in Malay.

Malay itu often covers meanings that English separates into:

• that
• the
• sometimes an emphatic or already-known reference

So the best English translation depends on context. If the speaker is pointing out one specific committee, that committee may fit. If it is simply a known committee in the discussion, the committee may sound better.

Not necessarily. Malay often allows a bare noun like pengerusi without a classifier or article.

You could say:

• memilih pengerusi = choose a/the chairperson

If you want to explicitly mean one chairperson, you might use:

• memilih seorang pengerusi

But in many ordinary sentences, the shorter version is perfectly natural.

Yes, Jawatankuasa itu memilih pengerusi is an active sentence: the committee performs the action.

A passive version could be something like:

• Pengerusi itu dipilih oleh jawatankuasa itu.
  = The chairperson was chosen by the committee.

Here:

• dipilih is a passive form
• oleh means by

This is useful because Malay uses active and passive forms quite regularly.