Saya perlu buat keputusan sekarang.

I need to make a decision now.

Breakdown of Saya perlu buat keputusan sekarang.

• saya: I
• sekarang: now
• perlu: to need
• buat: to make
• keputusan: the decision

Questions & Answers about Saya perlu buat keputusan sekarang.

What part of speech is perlu in this sentence, and could I use harus instead?

Perlu is a modal verb in Malay, meaning “need to.” You can indeed swap it with harus, which also expresses necessity or obligation. The nuance is that harus can sound slightly stronger—closer to “must”—while perlu is a bit softer, like “need to.”
Example:

• Saya perlu buat keputusan sekarang. (I need to make a decision now.)
• Saya harus buat keputusan sekarang. (I must make a decision now.)

Why is it buat keputusan and not membuat keputusan? Are both correct?

Yes, both are correct.

• Membuat keputusan is the fully prefixed, formal form (meN- + buat → membuat).
• Buat keputusan is colloquial and much more common in everyday speech. It literally means “do/make a decision.” In writing or formal contexts you’ll often see membuat keputusan, but in conversation you’ll usually hear buat keputusan.

Could I say Saya perlu membuat keputusan sekarang? Would that sound strange?

No, it wouldn’t sound strange—it’s just more formal.

• Saya perlu membuat keputusan sekarang. is perfectly fine in writing, presentations or in polite speech.
• Saya perlu buat keputusan sekarang. is what you’d typically say among friends, colleagues or in casual settings.

Why is sekarang placed at the end of the sentence? Can I move it?

In Malay the adverb sekarang (“now”) is quite flexible. Putting it at the end (…keputusan sekarang) emphasizes WHEN the decision must happen. You could also say:

• Sekarang saya perlu buat keputusan. (Now I need to make a decision.)
  Both are grammatically correct; you choose based on the flow or emphasis you want.

Do I have to include Saya? Can I drop the subject?

Malay often omits the pronoun if context is clear. So you can say:

• Perlu buat keputusan sekarang.
  It’s understood you mean “I.” However, dropping Saya makes it sound quite abrupt or like a note/reminder. In normal speech, you’ll usually keep Saya unless it’s very clear from context.

What exactly does keputusan mean, and where does the word come from?

Keputusan means “decision.” It’s a noun formed by the Malay nominal affixes ke-…-an around the root putus (“to break”/“to cut off”). So etymologically it implies “the act of cutting off other options”—i.e. making a choice.

Could I use the verb memutuskan instead of the noun phrase buat keputusan?

Yes. Memutuskan is the transitive verb “to decide.” You could say:

• Saya perlu memutuskan sekarang.
  In that case you’re literally saying “I need to decide now.” If you want to specify what you’re deciding on, add an object:
• Saya perlu memutuskan hal ini sekarang. (I need to decide this matter now.)
  By contrast, buat keputusan pairs the verb buat with the noun keputusan.

How can I express “right now” for extra urgency?

You can add juga to get sekarang juga, which translates to “right now” or “immediately.” For example:

• Saya perlu buat keputusan sekarang juga.
  This underlines that there’s no time to waste.