Pengantara itu berkecuali dan pengantaraan itu sukarela.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in simple statements.

So:

• Pengantara itu berkecuali = The mediator is neutral
• pengantaraan itu sukarela = the mediation is voluntary

This is very normal in Malay. In many sentences, you can put a noun phrase first and then an adjective or descriptive word after it, without needing a separate word for is.

In this sentence, itu works a lot like that or the, depending on context.

• pengantara itu = that mediator / the mediator
• pengantaraan itu = that mediation / the mediation

Malay does not have a direct article system like English a / an / the, so words like itu and ini often help specify which thing is being talked about.

Here, itu makes both noun phrases sound definite and specific.

That is the normal Malay pattern.

Malay usually puts demonstratives after the noun:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• orang ini = this person
• pengantara itu = that mediator / the mediator

So English says that mediator, but Malay says mediator that.

They are related, but they are not the same word.

• pengantara = mediator / intermediary
  This refers to the person or agent doing the mediating.

• pengantaraan = mediation
  This refers to the process, act, or institution of mediating.

A useful pattern in Malay is:

• peng-... often forms a person/doer noun
• -an often turns something into a noun for a process, result, or abstract concept

So here:

• pengantara = the mediator
• pengantaraan = the mediation process

Even though they look similar, one is the person, and the other is the activity/process.

Yes, essentially.

Adding -an often creates a related noun, frequently referring to:

• a process
• a result
• an abstract concept
• something connected to the base word

So:

• pengantara = mediator
• pengantaraan = mediation

This is a very common and useful pattern in Malay word formation.

Berkecuali means neutral, impartial, or not taking sides.

The prefix ber- is very common in Malay. It has several uses, and one of them is to form words that describe a state or condition.

So berkecuali means something like:

• to be neutral
• to remain impartial
• to not side with either party

In practical usage, it behaves like a descriptive word here:

• Pengantara itu berkecuali = The mediator is neutral

You do not need to break it apart every time you use it, but it is helpful to recognize ber- as a very common prefix.

Yes. In this sentence, sukarela functions as an adjective meaning voluntary.

So:

• pengantaraan itu sukarela = the mediation is voluntary

Depending on context, sukarela can also relate to the idea of volunteering or doing something willingly, but here it clearly describes the nature of the mediation.

That is the normal structure in this kind of Malay sentence.

Malay often uses this pattern:

• noun phrase + description

So:

• Pengantara itu berkecuali
• Pengantaraan itu sukarela

This is similar to saying:

• The mediator — neutral
• The mediation — voluntary

with the idea of is understood automatically.

Yes, in some contexts you can.

For example:

• Pengantara berkecuali dan pengantaraan sukarela

This can still be understood, especially in a general or headline-like style. But it sounds less specifically tied to a particular mediator and a particular mediation.

Using itu makes the sentence feel more definite and specific:

• the mediator
• the mediation

So in a formal explanation, policy statement, or legal context, keeping itu is often a good choice.

Yes, in this sentence it does.

• dan = and

It links the two clauses:

• Pengantara itu berkecuali
• pengantaraan itu sukarela

So the full sentence simply joins two related statements together.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and is the kind of wording you might see in:

• mediation guidelines
• legal or administrative documents
• official explanations of a process

Words like pengantaraan, berkecuali, and sukarela are common in formal or professional contexts.

In everyday conversation, people might still understand them, but the sentence as a whole has a formal, institutional tone.

Yes. Pengantara can have the broader sense of intermediary, go-between, or middle person, depending on context.

However, because the second noun is pengantaraan and the sentence talks about neutrality and voluntariness, the context strongly points to mediation and a mediator rather than just any intermediary.

So context is what makes mediator the best reading here.

In Malay, many words that are translated as adjectives in English can function very naturally as the predicate of a sentence.

So when you see:

• Pengantara itu berkecuali
• Pengantaraan itu sukarela

the most natural reading is:

• The mediator is neutral
• The mediation is voluntary

This is a very common Malay pattern. You do not always need a special marker to tell you this is an adjective versus this is a verb, because predicate adjectives are extremely normal in the language.

Context and meaning usually make the role clear.