Semua cadangan diterima kecuali cadangan balas.

Semua means all or every. In this sentence, semua cadangan means all the proposals/suggestions.

A useful pattern is:

• semua + noun = all ...
• semua cadangan = all proposals
• semua pelajar = all students

Cadangan usually means proposal, suggestion, or recommendation, depending on context.

So cadangan can refer to:

• a suggestion in discussion
• a formal proposal
• a recommendation

In this sentence, proposal or suggestion both make sense.

Diterima means accepted.

It comes from the root word terima, which means receive or accept. The prefix di- is a very common Malay passive marker.

So:

• terima = accept / receive
• diterima = is accepted / are accepted

In other words, di- often tells you that the noun before the verb is the thing receiving the action.

Here:

• Semua cadangan diterima = All proposals are accepted

Yes. This is a passive construction.

The structure is:

• Semua cadangan = the thing being acted on
• diterima = are accepted

So instead of saying someone accepts all proposals, Malay says all proposals are accepted.

This kind of passive sentence is extremely common in Malay, especially in formal writing.

Malay does not usually need a separate word like is/am/are in the same way English does.

English says:

• All proposals are accepted

Malay can simply say:

• Semua cadangan diterima

The idea of are accepted is already contained in diterima, so no extra are is needed.

Kecuali means except.

So:

• Semua cadangan diterima kecuali cadangan balas
• All proposals are accepted except counterproposals

A few examples:

• Semua hadir kecuali Ali = Everyone attended except Ali
• Saya makan semua kecuali ikan = I ate everything except fish

Cadangan balas means counterproposal or response proposal.

Here:

• cadangan = proposal
• balas = reply, return, response, counter-

So together, cadangan balas refers to a proposal made in response to another proposal.

Depending on context, English translations could include:

• counterproposal
• counter-suggestion
• proposal in reply

Balas often means reply, respond, return, or sometimes retaliate/pay back, depending on context.

Common examples:

• membalas mesej = to reply to a message
• balas dendam = take revenge
• cadangan balas = counterproposal

So in this sentence, balas has the sense of in response or counter-, not revenge or anything like that.

Because balas alone would not clearly mean counterproposal.

Malay often uses noun combinations like this, and the full phrase is needed for clarity:

• cadangan balas = counterproposal

If you said only kecuali balas, it would sound incomplete or confusing, because balas by itself is not normally understood as a noun meaning counterproposal.

So the repetition is natural and useful:

• cadangan = proposals
• cadangan balas = counterproposals

By itself, cadangan can be either singular or plural. Malay nouns often do not change form for plural.

The word semua tells you it is plural here:

• cadangan = proposal / proposals
• semua cadangan = all proposals

So Malay relies a lot on context or words like semua to show number.

Not naturally. In English, every proposal is singular, so it would normally go with is, not are. But because the sentence ends with except counterproposals, English usually prefers all proposals are accepted except counterproposals.

So the most natural translation is:

• All proposals are accepted except counterproposals

Malay semua cadangan can correspond to English all proposals very smoothly.

Yes, but it depends on context rather than grammar.

Cadangan is flexible:

• in everyday conversation, it may be suggestion
• in formal meetings or documents, it may be proposal
• in some contexts, it can even be recommendation

So if the sentence comes from a formal setting, proposal may be better:

• All proposals are accepted except counterproposals

If the setting is less formal, suggestion may also work:

• All suggestions are accepted except counter-suggestions

The basic structure is:

• Semua cadangan = subject/topic
• diterima = passive verb
• kecuali cadangan balas = exception phrase

So the full pattern is:

All proposals + are accepted + except counterproposals

This is quite straightforward in Malay once you recognize diterima as passive.

Yes, a comma is possible in writing, especially if the writer wants to make the exception clearer:

• Semua cadangan diterima, kecuali cadangan balas.

Without the comma is also fine:

• Semua cadangan diterima kecuali cadangan balas.

Both are acceptable. The difference is mainly punctuation style, not grammar.

An active version would need an agent, meaning the person or group doing the accepting. For example:

• Kami menerima semua cadangan kecuali cadangan balas.
• We accept all proposals except counterproposals.

Compare:

• Semua cadangan diterima ... = passive, focuses on the proposals
• Kami menerima semua cadangan ... = active, focuses on we

Malay often prefers the passive in formal or neutral statements like the original sentence.