Mereka menyiasat masalah itu.

A simple breakdown is:

• Mereka = they
• menyiasat = investigate / are investigating / investigated
• masalah = problem
• itu = that / the

So the structure is:

• Mereka → subject
• menyiasat → verb
• masalah itu → object noun phrase

Malay word order here is the same basic order as English:

Subject + Verb + Object

So: Mereka + menyiasat + masalah itu

Siasat is the base word, meaning something like investigation / investigate depending on use.

The form menyiasat is a verb formed with the prefix meN-, which is very common in Malay for active verbs.

Here is what happens:

• base word: siasat
• meN-
  • siasat
• because the word begins with s, the prefix changes form and the s drops
• result: menyiasat

This sound change is normal in Malay morphology.

So menyiasat is the expected active verb form meaning to investigate.

No. Malay verbs usually do not change for tense the way English verbs do.

So menyiasat could mean:

• investigate
• are investigating
• were investigating
• investigated

The exact time is normally understood from context or from added time words, such as:

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

So by itself, Mereka menyiasat masalah itu does not force one tense.

In Malay, words like ini and itu usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• masalah ini = this problem
• masalah itu = that problem

Depending on context, masalah itu can also be translated naturally as the problem.

This is very different from English, where we say that problem, not problem that.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Malay itu often points to something already known, identifiable, or previously mentioned. Because of that, English may translate it as:

• that problem
• the problem

So masalah itu is often best understood as a specific problem, not just a problem in general.

Malay does not use articles the same way English does. There is no direct equivalent that works exactly like English a/an and the in every sentence.

So:

• masalah can mean a problem or problem
• masalah itu usually means a specific problem, often translated as the problem or that problem

Malay relies more on context, word order, and words like itu and ini rather than on articles like English does.

Yes, mereka is the standard Malay word for they / them when referring to people.

A few useful points:

• mereka is normally for humans
• it does not change for subject or object like English they/them
• it does not show gender

So mereka can mean:

• they
• them

depending on sentence position.

In this sentence, because it comes first as the subject, it means they.

Not necessarily. Malay often leaves number to context.

For example:

• masalah can mean problem or problems
• mereka clearly shows the subject is plural: they

In this sentence, masalah itu will usually be understood as the problem / that problem in the singular, but the noun itself does not have a special singular ending.

Malay can show plurality in other ways, including:

• context
• numbers
• reduplication, such as masalah-masalah for problems

But plural marking is often omitted when it is unnecessary.

Sometimes yes, if the context already makes it clear who is being talked about.

Malay often allows omission of subjects when they are understood from context. But in a simple standalone sentence like this, keeping mereka is natural and clear.

So:

• Mereka menyiasat masalah itu. = explicit, clear
• Menyiasat masalah itu. = possible in some contexts, but not as neutral by itself

For learners, it is usually safer to include the subject unless the context clearly supports dropping it.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

menyiasat ≈ men-ya-sat

More roughly for an English speaker:

• me as in a short meh
• nya like nyah
• sat like saht

Important point:

• ny in Malay is a single sound, like the ny in Spanish señor

So menyiasat is not pronounced as men-see-a-sat. The ny sound is important.

Yes. Malay uses passive forms quite often.

An active version is:

• Mereka menyiasat masalah itu.
  • They investigated / are investigating the problem.

A passive version could be:

• Masalah itu disiasat oleh mereka.
  • The problem is investigated / was investigated by them.

Here:

• disiasat = passive verb
• oleh mereka = by them

Malay uses both active and passive structures very naturally, more often than English in many contexts.