Pakaian itu singkat sejak tukang jahit memendekkan kelim.

Pakaian is a general word for clothing / clothes / attire. Depending on context, it can refer to:

• clothing in general
• a set of clothes
• sometimes a specific garment, if the situation makes that clear

So in this sentence, it likely refers to the garment/clothing item in question, even though the word itself is broad.

If you want a more specific word, Malay often uses things like:

• baju = shirt/top/clothes item
• gaun = dress/gown
• skirt = skirt
• seluar = trousers/pants

That is normal Malay word order.

Malay demonstratives such as ini and itu usually come after the noun:

• pakaian itu = that clothing / the garment
• baju ini = this shirt
• rumah itu = that house

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

In many contexts, itu can also feel a bit like the, not just that, especially when the thing is already known in the conversation.

Malay often does not use a separate word for is/are in simple sentences like this.

So:

• Pakaian itu singkat = The clothing is short
• Rumah itu besar = The house is big
• Dia sakit = He/She is sick

This is very normal.
Malay can use words like ialah or adalah, but not in simple adjective sentences like this.

Both singkat and pendek can relate to shortness, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

• pendek = physically short, not tall, not long
• singkat = shortened, brief, or short in a way that can suggest reduced length or brevity

In clothing contexts, singkat can suggest that something is too short or has become shortened. That fits this sentence because the hem was altered.

Still, many learners know pendek first, and in some situations pendek may sound more straightforward for physical length.

So the use of singkat here gives a slight sense of shortened/brief in length, not just naturally short.

Yes. Singkat very often means brief:

• ucapan singkat = a brief speech
• masa yang singkat = a short time

But words in Malay depend heavily on context. Here, the clue is:

• tukang jahit = tailor
• memendekkan kelim = shorten the hem

Because the sentence is about clothing alteration, singkat is understood as physically short, not brief.

Here sejak means since, in the time sense.

So:

• sejak tukang jahit memendekkan kelim = since the tailor shortened the hem

It marks a starting point in the past that continues to affect the present.

Important: sejak does not mean because.
If you want because, Malay usually uses:

• kerana
• sebab

So this sentence means the clothing has been short from that time onward, not short because in a purely causal grammar sense.

Memendekkan comes from the base idea pendek = short.

The pattern is:

• pendek = short
• memendekkan = to shorten something / make something shorter

This uses the Malay verb-building pattern:

• meN- ... -kan

Here it works like a causative/transitive form: it means someone causes something to become short.

So:

• tukang jahit memendekkan kelim = the tailor shortened the hem

This is different from just describing something as short.
It describes the action of making it shorter.

This is due to a common sound change in the meN- prefix.

When meN- attaches to a base word beginning with p, the p usually drops, and the prefix becomes mem-.

So:

• pendek
• meN- + pendek + -kan
• memendekkan

This is a very common pattern in Malay.

Other examples:

• pakai → memakai
• pilih → memilih

Kelim means hem — the folded and sewn edge of a piece of clothing.

So in this sentence:

• memendekkan kelim = to shorten the hem

In practical clothing terms, this suggests an alteration involving the lower edge of the garment.

Tukang jahit means tailor or seamstress/sewer, depending on context.

Literally:

• tukang = a worker, craftsperson, or someone skilled in a practical trade
• jahit = sew

So tukang jahit is literally a sewing worker/craftsperson.

This is a very normal Malay expression for a tailor.

Malay verbs do not usually change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So memendekkan itself does not automatically mean past, present, or future.
You understand the time from context words such as sejak.

Because the sentence says sejak tukang jahit memendekkan kelim, the meaning is:

• the tailor shortened the hem in the past
• from that time until now, the clothing has been short

So the sentence has a present result linked to a past event.

It is understandable, but some speakers might phrase it a bit differently depending on what exactly they want to emphasize.

A few points:

• singkat is possible, but some speakers might prefer pendek for physical shortness.
• A speaker might also make the change-of-state more explicit with menjadi.
• Sometimes kelimnya might sound more specific than just kelim.

For example, you might also hear something like:

• Pakaian itu menjadi singkat sejak tukang jahit memendekkan kelimnya.
• Pakaian itu menjadi pendek selepas tukang jahit mengubah kelimnya.

So the original sentence is understandable, but not the only natural way to say it.