Anak itu melukis patung.

A natural word-by-word breakdown is:

• anak = child
• itu = that / the
• melukis = to draw
• patung = statue / sculpture

So the sentence structure is:

• Anak itu = that child / the child
• melukis patung = is drawing a statue / draws a statue

The exact English translation depends on context, because Malay does not mark tense the way English does.

In Malay, demonstratives like ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun.

So:

• anak itu = that child
• patung itu = that statue

This is normal Malay word order.
English says that child, but Malay says child that.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Malay itu often literally means that, but in many sentences it can also sound like the in natural English translation.

So anak itu may be understood as:

• that child
• the child

Which one sounds best depends on the situation and on the translation already given.

Not by itself. Anak usually means child in a general sense.

It does not tell you whether the child is male or female.
If you want to be more specific, Malay can use other words, for example:

• anak lelaki = son / boy child
• anak perempuan = daughter / girl child

So in this sentence, anak is just child unless context says otherwise.

Lukis is the root word, and melukis is the active verb form built from that root.

A simple way to think about it is:

• lukis = draw / drawing as a base idea
• melukis = to draw / draws / is drawing

The prefix meN- is a very common Malay verb-forming prefix. With lukis, it becomes melukis.

For learners, the important point is that melukis is the normal verb form here.

Malay verbs usually do not show tense directly the way English verbs do.

So melukis by itself can mean different things depending on context, such as:

• draws
• is drawing
• was drawing
• drew

If Malay speakers want to make time clearer, they often add time words, for example:

• sekarang = now
• semalam = yesterday
• esok = tomorrow

So without extra context, the sentence is tenseless in form, and English has to choose the most natural translation.

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

So patung can mean:

• a statue
• the statue
• sometimes just statue/statues in a general sense

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

In this sentence, English often adds a because it sounds natural:
The child is drawing a statue.

By itself, patung does not clearly mark singular or plural.

It can mean:

• a statue
• the statue
• statues, if context supports that

Malay often leaves number unmarked unless it needs to be clear.

If a speaker wants to make the plural very explicit, Malay may use reduplication:

• patung-patung = statues

But in this sentence, patung is most naturally understood as singular unless context suggests otherwise.

The sentence follows the common Malay pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object

So:

• Anak itu = subject
• melukis = verb
• patung = object

That gives:

Anak itu / melukis / patung
The child / is drawing / a statue

This word order is very similar to English.

Normally, melukis means to draw or sometimes to paint a picture, not to sculpt.

So melukis patung usually means:

• drawing a statue
• making a picture of a statue

It does not usually mean creating the statue itself.

If someone were sculpting a statue, Malay would usually use a different verb.

Not if you want the same meaning.

To say that child, Malay normally uses:

• anak itu

If you say Itu anak..., that usually starts a different sentence pattern, more like:

• That is a child...
• or a pointing/identifying structure

So for the noun phrase that child, the normal form is anak itu, not itu anak.

Yes. It is a perfectly normal simple sentence.

Malay often allows very compact sentences because it does not require:

• articles like a/the
• tense marking on the verb
• gender marking

So Anak itu melukis patung is a complete and natural sentence meaning something like:

• That child is drawing a statue
• The child draws a statue

The exact English version depends on context.