Learn Hardcore Malay: Senarai tugasan saya belum lengkap, jadi saya sambung bekerja. - My task list is not complete yet, so I continue working.

belum is an adverb meaning “not yet,” so belum lengkap literally means “not yet complete.” It carries the nuance that completion is expected soon. In contrast, tidak lengkap simply states that something is “incomplete” without implying any timing or expectation of finishing.

Why is saya repeated in the sentence? Can I omit the second saya in “jadi saya sambung bekerja”?

Malay often allows dropping the pronoun in the second clause when the subject is clear, so you could say:
> senarai tugasan saya belum lengkap, jadi sambung bekerja
However, repeating saya (as in jadi saya sambung bekerja) adds clarity and emphasis—especially in writing or more formal speech.

What part of speech is sambung, and shouldn’t active Malay verbs take the meN- prefix (e.g. menyambung)?

Here sambung is a verb meaning “to continue.” In colloquial Malay it’s common to use the bare root (sambung) instead of the formal menyambung. If you want a more formal register, you can indeed say:
> jadi saya menyambung bekerja

Why is bekerja used instead of kerja after sambung?

sambung is a verb, so it normally takes another verb as its object/complement. bekerja is the verb “to work,” whereas kerja is a noun (“work”/“job”). Some speakers say sambung kerja informally, but the more grammatical pairing is sambung bekerja (“continue working”).

What is the function of jadi here? Could I replace it with maka or oleh itu?

jadi is a conjunction equivalent to “so” or “therefore,” very common in informal and spoken Malay. For a more formal tone you could use:

maka saya menyambung bekerja
oleh itu saya sambung bekerja
But jadi is the most natural connector in everyday usage.

Could I say senarai tugasan saya belum lengkap lagi? What does lagi add?

Adding lagi (“yet/still”) makes it more emphatic: belum lengkap lagi = “still not complete yet.” Without lagi, belum lengkap is perfectly correct and slightly less colloquial.

What’s the difference between

senarai tugasan saya belum lengkap
and
saya belum melengkapkan senarai tugasan saya?

senarai tugasan saya belum lengkap focuses on the state of the list (“my task list is not yet complete”).
saya belum melengkapkan senarai tugasan saya focuses on your action (“I have not yet completed my task list”).
Both convey similar ideas, but the first describes a condition; the second describes an activity you haven’t done yet.

Why use sambung bekerja instead of terus bekerja or kembali bekerja?

sambung = “continue/resume”
terus = “keep on/go straight on”
kembali = “return”
So sambung bekerja highlights that you’re picking up work again after pausing. terus bekerja would mean “to keep working (without stopping),” and kembali bekerja implies “to go back to work (after leaving).” Each has a subtly different focus.