Learn Hardcore Malay: Dokumen penting sedang dicari oleh bos di pejabat. - The important document is being looked for by the boss at the office.

In Malay, adjectives usually follow the noun they modify. So dokumen penting means "important document(s)." Putting the adjective first (e.g., penting dokumen) is ungrammatical. You can use dokumen yang penting for a more contrastive/restrictive sense ("the document(s) that are important").

Is dokumen singular or plural here?

Malay has no articles, so dokumen can mean "document" or "documents." To be explicit:

Singular: satu dokumen penting or sebuah dokumen penting
Plural: beberapa dokumen penting, banyak dokumen penting, or (more formal/written) dokumen-dokumen penting

What does sedang mean? Is it necessary?

sedang marks an action in progress (like English "be + -ing"). It's optional; context often shows the ongoing meaning. Colloquial alternative: tengah (e.g., Bos tengah cari dokumen penting...).

How is dicari formed, and how does it differ from mencari?

Root: cari ("to look for").
Passive: di- + cari → dicari ("is/are being looked for").
Active: meN- + cari → mencari ("to look for; is looking for"). Examples:
Passive: Dokumen penting sedang dicari (oleh) bos di pejabat.
Active: Bos sedang mencari dokumen penting di pejabat.

Do I have to use oleh ("by")? Can I drop it?

Standard Malay: oleh + agent is optional. If the agent is unimportant/obvious, omit it: Dokumen penting sedang dicari di pejabat.
Colloquial "passive 2": agent comes before the verb without oleh, especially with pronouns: Dokumen penting sedang saya cari di pejabat. With a noun agent, you’ll hear Dokumen penting sedang bos cari di pejabat in speech, but it’s less formal.

What does di pejabat modify? Is the sentence ambiguous?

It can mean either:

the search is happening at the office, or
the boss (who is at the office) is doing the searching. To clarify:
Search location: Dokumen penting sedang dicari di pejabat oleh bos.
Boss’s location: Dokumen penting sedang dicari oleh bos yang berada di pejabat.

Why is di- attached in dicari but di is separate in di pejabat?

They are different words:

di- is a passive prefix attached to verbs: dicari, diambil, ditulis.
di is a preposition meaning "at/in/on" and is written separately: di pejabat, di rumah, di meja.

Can I reorder parts for emphasis?

Yes:

Location focus: Di pejabat, dokumen penting sedang dicari oleh bos.
Agent focus (active): Bos sedang mencari dokumen penting di pejabat.
Object focus without agent: Dokumen penting sedang dicari (di pejabat).

Is sedang + passive natural?

Yes. sedang dicari is common and natural. While some prefer the active for clarity, the passive with sedang is perfectly fine.

How do I make this a yes/no question?

Formal/neutral: Adakah dokumen penting sedang dicari oleh bos di pejabat?
Colloquial (active): Bos tengah cari dokumen penting kat pejabat ke? (ke = informal question particle; kat = colloquial di.)

Are there alternatives to bos and pejabat?

bos: common; alternatives include ketua (head/leader), majikan (employer), pengurus (manager).
pejabat: standard for "office"; colloquial ofis. Indonesian kantor isn’t used in Malaysian Malay.

Can dicari mean "wanted" like on a notice?

Yes. In headlines/signs, Dicari: means "Wanted/Looking for:". Example: Dicari: juruteknik IT.

How can I specify which important documents?

Use demonstratives or a relative clause:

dokumen penting itu/ini (those/these important documents)
dokumen penting yang sedang dicari oleh bos di pejabat itu ("the important documents that are being looked for by the boss at that office")

How do I show it’s only one document?

Use satu or the general classifier sebuah: satu dokumen penting or sebuah dokumen penting.

Could I use forms like tercari or kena cari here?

tercari usually appears as tercari-cari ("to keep searching; unable to find") and isn’t used for passive "is being looked for."
kena cari expresses necessity/obligation: Dokumen penting kena cari hari ini ("must be found today"). For "is being looked for," use sedang dicari.

Is there any nuance difference between dokumen penting and dokumen yang penting?

dokumen penting: plain description.
dokumen yang penting: more contrastive/restrictive ("the documents that are important [as opposed to others]") or used when the adjective is being focused/emphasized.

Any quick pronunciation tips for these words?

sedang: first e is a schwa (uh), final -ng is [ŋ].
cari: c is "ch" (CHA-ree).
pejabat: e is schwa; syllables pə-JA-bat.
bos: like English "boss" but with a short vowel.