Kemalangan itu menyebabkan maut.

In Malay, itu often means that, but it can also work a lot like the in context.

So:

• kemalangan itu = that accident / the accident

Malay demonstratives usually come after the noun, not before it. So unlike English that accident, Malay says accident that.

This noun + itu pattern is very common:

• rumah itu = that house / the house
• orang itu = that person / the person

Sebab is the base word, often meaning reason or cause.

Menyebabkan is the verb form meaning to cause or to result in.

The prefix meN- and suffix -kan turn the base into an active transitive verb:

• sebab = cause, reason
• menyebabkan = to cause

So in this sentence, menyebabkan is the correct verb because the accident is causing something.

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

So menyebabkan can mean:

• causes
• caused
• sometimes even is causing

The exact time comes from context. In a sentence like Kemalangan itu menyebabkan maut, many learners will naturally understand it as The accident caused death or The accident was fatal, especially if the event has already happened.

If you want to make the past clearer, Malay often uses time words instead of changing the verb:

• Kemalangan itu semalam menyebabkan maut. = The accident yesterday caused death.

Maut means death, but it often sounds more formal, serious, or dramatic than some other choices. It is common in news reports, official statements, and formal writing.

In this sentence, maut means the accident resulted in death.

Compared with another common word:

• maut = death, often formal or emphatic
• kematian = death, more neutral as a noun

So menyebabkan maut sounds natural, especially in formal or journalistic Malay.

It could use kematian, and that would also be understandable:

• Kemalangan itu menyebabkan kematian.

But there is a small difference in tone.

• maut is often more concise and headline-like
• kematian is more neutral and descriptive

In news-style Malay, maut is very common in statements about fatal accidents. So Kemalangan itu menyebabkan maut sounds compact and formal.

Because maut is the direct object of the verb menyebabkan.

The structure is:

• Kemalangan itu = subject
• menyebabkan = verb
• maut = object

Malay often places the object directly after a transitive verb, just as English does in caused death.

So no extra word like to, in, or for is needed here.

Yes. In many contexts, itu can serve either function.

Depending on the situation, kemalangan itu may be understood as:

• that accident — if you are pointing it out or contrasting it with another one
• the accident — if it is already known in the conversation

Malay does not have a separate word exactly equal to English the, so words like itu often help mark something as specific or already identified.

Yes, it is natural, especially in a formal or news-like style.

It sounds like something you might read in a report or hear in the news.

Some other natural alternatives are:

• Kemalangan itu mengakibatkan maut.
• Kemalangan itu menyebabkan kematian.
• Kemalangan itu meragut nyawa.
  This is more idiomatic and dramatic: The accident claimed lives.

So the original sentence is perfectly fine, but it has a slightly formal tone.

By itself, maut does not clearly tell you the number. It simply tells you that death resulted.

Malay often does not mark singular vs. plural as strictly as English does. If the speaker wants to be specific, they usually add a number or a more detailed phrase:

• menyebabkan satu kematian = caused one death
• menyebabkan dua kematian = caused two deaths
• meragut tiga nyawa = claimed three lives

So maut here focuses on the fact of death, not the exact number.

Not freely. The normal order here is:

• Kemalangan itu
  • menyebabkan
    • maut

That is the standard subject + verb + object order.

Also, itu normally stays after the noun:

• correct: kemalangan itu
• not natural: itu kemalangan in this sentence

So for this meaning, the original order is the natural one.