Pengantara menjelaskan cadangan balas semasa sesi berasingan.

The sentence follows the very common Malay pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object + Time/setting phrase

So here you have:

• Pengantara = subject
• menjelaskan = verb
• cadangan balas = object
• semasa sesi berasingan = time/context phrase

That makes the sentence feel quite straightforward for an English speaker once you identify each chunk.

Pengantara means something like mediator, intermediary, or go-between, depending on context.

It comes from the root antara, which relates to between or among, so pengantara is basically a person who is in between parties.

In a dispute-resolution or negotiation context, pengantara is very naturally understood as mediator.

Because jelas by itself usually means clear and is often an adjective.

Examples:

• jelas = clear
• menjelaskan = to explain, to make clear

The affixes change the word class and meaning:

• meN- ... -kan often creates a transitive verb
• So menjelaskan literally has the sense of making something clear

That is why it fits here: the mediator is explaining something.

Cadangan balas means counterproposal or response proposal, depending on context.

Breakdown:

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

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

This kind of noun + noun structure is very common in Malay, where the second noun modifies the first.

Not really in the full verbal sense. On its own, balas can function as a verb meaning to reply, to return, or to retaliate/respond.

But in cadangan balas, it acts more like a modifying element inside a noun phrase. It gives the idea of response or counter-.

So although balas has verbal origins and can be a verb elsewhere, here the whole phrase is best understood as a fixed noun phrase: counterproposal.

Because Malay normally does not use articles the way English does.

So:

• pengantara can mean the mediator or a mediator
• cadangan balas can mean the counterproposal or a counterproposal
• sesi berasingan can mean a separate session or the separate session

The exact meaning depends on context, not on an article word.

This is one of the biggest differences from English.

Semasa means during or while.

In this sentence, it introduces a time/context phrase:

• semasa sesi berasingan = during a separate session

So it tells you when the explaining happened.

You can think of semasa as functioning somewhat like a preposition here.

Berasingan means separate, apart, or individually separated, depending on context.

The root is asing, which relates to being separate, distinct, or foreign/other. With ber-, the form berasingan often describes a state of being separate.

So:

• sesi berasingan = a separate session

In practice, learners often just memorize berasingan as a common adjective-like form meaning separate.

Because in Malay, modifiers usually come after the noun.

So:

• sesi berasingan = separate session
• literally: session separate

This is very normal Malay word order.

More examples:

• rumah besar = big house
• kereta merah = red car
• mesyuarat rasmi = official meeting

English puts many modifiers before the noun, but Malay commonly puts them after.

No, not explicitly.

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do. Menjelaskan can mean:

• explains
• explained
• was explaining
• is explaining

The time is understood from context or from extra time words.

In this sentence, semasa sesi berasingan gives some situational timing, but it still does not force a specific English tense by itself. The broader context would decide whether the best translation is past or present.

Yes, Malay often leaves that open unless something makes it specific.

Sesi berasingan most naturally looks singular in isolation: a separate session.

But Malay nouns do not have to change form for plural. If context required it, a reader might understand it more generally.

If a speaker wanted to make plurality very clear, they could use:

• sesi-sesi berasingan = separate sessions
• or add a number or quantifier

So the sentence as written is usually read as singular, but Malay is often less strict than English about this.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and professional.

Words like:

• pengantara
• menjelaskan
• cadangan balas
• sesi berasingan

all give the sentence a formal, administrative, legal, or negotiation-related tone.

In casual everyday conversation, people might choose simpler wording depending on the situation. But this sentence sounds very natural in mediation, meetings, or official reporting.

Yes, depending on context.

Possible alternatives might include:

• cadangan balasan
• cadangan sebagai respons
• cadangan balas pihak satu lagi if you want to be more specific

But cadangan balas is concise and natural for counterproposal.

A learner should be aware that Malay often has multiple ways to express the same idea, especially in formal contexts. The exact preferred phrase may vary by region, field, or document style.