Dua pihak membincangkan pertikaian itu.

Not exactly. Pihak means side, party, or interested party, depending on context.

So dua pihak means two sides or two parties, not necessarily two individual people.

In a sentence about a dispute, dua pihak usually refers to:

• the two sides in an argument
• two organizations
• two groups
• two legal parties

So it is broader and more formal than just two people.

Malay does not use articles like a, an, and the the way English does.

That means a noun phrase like dua pihak can simply mean two parties or, depending on context, the two parties.

Definiteness in Malay is often understood from:

• context
• demonstratives like ini and itu
• word order and surrounding information

In this sentence, pertikaian itu is clearly marked as specific by itu, but dua pihak is left unmarked.

No. Pihak here is a normal noun, not a classifier.

It means side/party. The number dua directly modifies it:

• dua pihak = two parties / two sides

Some Malay nouns need classifiers in certain counting expressions, but pihak here is just the noun itself.

Membincangkan is the verb.

It can be broken down like this:

• base: bincang = discuss
• prefix: meN- → here it becomes mem- before b
• suffix: -kan

So:

• bincang → membincangkan

In this sentence, membincangkan means to discuss something.

A useful learner point:

• membincangkan + object = discuss something directly
• here the object is pertikaian itu

Because membincangkan is a transitive verb: it takes a direct object.

So:

• membincangkan pertikaian itu = discuss the dispute

By contrast, berbincang is usually used more like to have a discussion or to discuss in a more general/intransitive sense, often with a preposition or topic phrase:

• berbincang tentang pertikaian itu = discuss that dispute / have a discussion about that dispute

Both can work, but they are built differently:

• membincangkan + noun
• berbincang tentang + noun

This is the normal Malay subject–verb–object order:

• Dua pihak = subject
• membincangkan = verb
• pertikaian itu = object

So the structure is very similar to English:

• Two parties
  • discussed/are discussing
    • that dispute

Malay can change word order for emphasis or in passive sentences, but this sentence is the basic active pattern.

Here, pertikaian is a noun.

It means:

• dispute
• disagreement
• quarrel
• sometimes contention

So in the sentence, it is the thing being discussed.

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

So:

• pertikaian itu = that dispute / the dispute
• pihak itu = that party/side
• rumah itu = that house

This is normal Malay word order.

English: that dispute
Malay: pertikaian itu

It can mean either, depending on context.

Literally, itu often corresponds to that. But in many natural English translations, pertikaian itu may be rendered as the dispute if the dispute is already known in the conversation.

So both are possible:

• that dispute
• the dispute

Malay often uses itu where English would simply use the.

No, not by itself.

Malay verbs do not usually change form for tense the way English verbs do.
So membincangkan does not itself tell you whether the action is:

• present
• past
• future

The time is usually understood from:

• context
• time words such as semalam (yesterday), sekarang (now), esok (tomorrow)
• aspect markers like sedang, telah, akan

So this sentence could mean:

• Two parties are discussing the dispute
• Two parties discussed the dispute
• Two parties will discuss the dispute

Context decides.

Malay verbs do not agree with the subject in number.

So the verb stays the same whether the subject is singular or plural:

• Satu pihak membincangkan...
• Dua pihak membincangkan...

Also, nouns do not usually add something like English -s for plural.

Plurality is shown by:

• numbers: dua pihak
• context
• reduplication in some cases

So pihak does not need a plural ending.

Yes, if you specifically want to emphasize both sides, kedua-dua pihak is often the clearest choice.

Compare:

• dua pihak = two parties / two sides
• kedua-dua pihak = both parties / both sides

The original sentence with dua pihak is not wrong. It simply states there are two parties.
If the idea of both of them is important, kedua-dua pihak is more explicit.

No. It only means they discussed it or were discussing it.

It does not automatically mean:

• they resolved it
• they settled it
• they reached agreement

If you wanted that meaning, Malay would use other verbs, such as ones meaning resolve, settle, or reach an agreement on.

So membincangkan pertikaian itu only tells us the dispute was the topic of discussion.