Polis menangkap ketua geng itu.

This sentence follows the very common Malay pattern:

Subject + Verb + Object

• Polis = subject
• menangkap = verb
• ketua geng itu = object

So the structure is:

Polis + menangkap + ketua geng itu
= The police arrested that gang leader

This is similar to normal English word order, so it is usually one of the easier parts for English speakers.

It can depend on context.

In Malay, polis can refer to:

• the police as an institution or group
• a police officer in some contexts

In a sentence like Polis menangkap ketua geng itu, many learners will naturally understand it as the police. But without extra context, Malay often leaves number less explicit than English.

If Malay wants to be more specific, it might say things like:

• seorang polis = a police officer
• pihak polis = the police / the police authorities

Malay does not usually use articles like English the and a/an.

So nouns often appear by themselves:

• polis = police / the police / a police officer
• ketua geng = gang leader / the gang leader / a gang leader

You figure out the exact meaning from context.

In this sentence, itu helps make ketua geng itu more definite, so it often feels like that gang leader or sometimes simply the gang leader.

Menangkap is the active verb form of the root tangkap, which means catch or arrest.

• tangkap = root / base meaning
• menangkap = to catch, to arrest

The prefix meN- is very common in Malay and often forms an active verb.

So:

• tangkap = catch/arrest
• menangkap = catches / is catching / arrested, depending on context

The spelling change from tangkap to menangkap is part of a regular Malay sound-change pattern that happens when this prefix is added.

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

So menangkap by itself does not specifically mean:

• arrests
• arrested
• is arresting
• was arresting

All of those are possible depending on context.

Time is usually understood from:

• context
• time words such as semalam (yesterday), sekarang (now), esok (tomorrow)

So if the translation says arrested, that meaning is coming from context, not from a special past-tense verb form.

Literally:

• ketua = leader / chief / head
• geng = gang

So ketua geng means gang leader.

This is a common Malay noun pattern where one noun modifies another:

• ketua kampung = village head
• ketua kelas = class monitor / class leader
• ketua jabatan = head of department

The main noun comes first, and the modifying noun comes after it.

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

So:

• geng itu = that gang
• ketua geng itu = that gang leader

This is different from English, where that comes before the noun.

A useful pattern is:

noun + ini/itu

Examples:

• rumah ini = this house
• kereta itu = that car
• lelaki itu = that man

Very often, itu literally means that, but in real sentences it can also make something sound definite, so it may be translated more naturally as the.

So ketua geng itu can be understood as:

• that gang leader
• the gang leader

Which translation sounds best depends on context.

This is very common in Malay: a word may be translated differently in English depending on what sounds natural.

Yes, it could, depending on context.

Because Malay does not mark tense in the same way English does, menangkap can fit several English translations:

• The police arrest the gang leader
• The police are arresting the gang leader
• The police arrested the gang leader

Context tells you which one is intended.

If Malay wants to make the action clearly ongoing, it can add words such as:

• sedang = in the process of / currently

For example:

• Polis sedang menangkap ketua geng itu = The police are arresting that gang leader.

Yes. A very natural passive version is:

Ketua geng itu ditangkap oleh polis.

Breakdown:

• ketua geng itu = that gang leader
• ditangkap = was arrested / is arrested
• oleh polis = by the police

This means the same basic thing, but the focus shifts to the person being arrested.

Malay uses passive quite a lot, so it is useful to compare:

• Polis menangkap ketua geng itu. = active
• Ketua geng itu ditangkap oleh polis. = passive

Not necessarily. Malay often does not force you to mark singular versus plural as clearly as English does.

So polis can stay the same form. The context tells you whether it means:

• one officer
• multiple officers
• the police as an organization

English usually makes you choose, but Malay often leaves it open unless there is a reason to be specific.

You would normally remove itu:

Polis menangkap ketua geng.

That could mean:

• police arrested a gang leader
• police arrested the gang leader

Again, Malay often leaves definiteness less explicit than English.

If you want to clearly say a gang leader, you might add seorang:

Polis menangkap seorang ketua geng.

• seorang = one person / a

A rough guide is:

me-nang-kap

with nang sounding like the nung in sung plus a k before kap.

Very roughly for an English speaker:

muh-NAHNG-kahp

But it is better to think of it in syllables:

• me
• nang
• kap

Also, try to pronounce geng with a final ng sound, not a hard g at the end.