Learn Hardcore Malay: Laporan itu selesai sekarang.

Itu is a post-nominal demonstrative that can mean “that,” but it’s also commonly used to mark a specific/known item, which often translates as “the.” So both “That report is finished now” and “The report is finished now” are possible, depending on context.

Can I omit itu and say Laporan selesai sekarang?

You can, but it sounds less specific—more like “a report” or “reports” in general. If you mean a particular report that both speaker and listener know about, keep itu. Without it, the sentence can feel incomplete or generic in many contexts.

Where is the verb “is”? Why isn’t adalah used?

Malay often has no copula (“to be”) before adjectives/stative verbs. Selesai itself functions as the predicate, so you don’t say adalah here. Avoid Laporan itu adalah selesai sekarang—it’s ungrammatical.

Is selesai a verb or an adjective?

It behaves like a stative verb/adjective meaning “finished/complete.” It describes a state and doesn’t take a direct object. If you want “to finish something,” use a transitive verb like:

menyelesaikan (to finish/resolve)
menyiapkan (to complete/prepare)

Do I need sudah/telah to show completion?

Not required. Selesai already implies completion. Sudah (colloq: dah) or telah (more formal) add the sense of “already/has.” Examples:

Neutral: Laporan itu selesai sekarang.
Emphatic/explicit completion: Laporan itu sudah selesai (sekarang). Often, with sudah/telah, you can drop sekarang unless you’re emphasizing the timing.

Can sekarang go elsewhere in the sentence?

Yes. All are natural with slight differences in emphasis:

Laporan itu selesai sekarang. (neutral, time at the end)
Sekarang, laporan itu selesai. (focus on “now”)
Laporan itu sekarang selesai. (focus on a change of state “now”) Avoid splitting aspect markers: say sudah selesai, not sudah sekarang selesai.

What’s the difference between selesai, siap, habis, and tamat?

selesai: completed/resolved (tasks, problems). Very general and neutral.
siap: finished/ready (implies readiness for the next step). Very common in speech.
habis: used up/run out; also “over” for activities, but sounds off for “finishing a task” unless context fits.
tamat: ended/terminated (courses, stories, events), not for reports you’re writing.

How do I say “not finished yet” vs “not finished”?

“Not yet finished”: belum selesai (implies it’s expected to finish later).
“Not finished” (simply not completed): tidak selesai (more absolute or final).

How do I say “just finished (now)”?

Use baru (optionally sahaja/saja):

Laporan itu baru (sahaja) selesai/siap. This means “has just finished,” stronger than simply adding sekarang.

How do I give the command “Finish the report now”?

Selesaikan laporan itu sekarang.
Siapkan laporan itu sekarang. Both are fine; selesaikan focuses on completion, siapkan on getting it ready/completed.

Can I say “finished report” as laporan selesai?

Not normally as an attributive adjective. Use a relative clause:

laporan yang telah/sudah selesai (the report that has been finished)
laporan yang sudah siap

Is Laporan itu selesai sekarang natural, or is there a more idiomatic option?

It’s grammatical and understandable. In everyday speech, you’ll very often hear:

Laporan itu sudah siap.
Laporan itu sudah selesai. If you must highlight timing, try:
Laporan itu baru siap sekarang.
Laporan itu siap sekarang juga. (right now)

What’s the difference between ini, itu, and tersebut with laporan?

laporan ini: this report (near the speaker, or newly introduced)
laporan itu: that/the report (known/previously mentioned, or distal)
laporan tersebut: the aforementioned report (formal/written style)

Can itu come before the noun?

Normally it follows the noun. Preposing itu is used for topicalization or as a standalone demonstrative:

Itu laporan saya. (“That is my report.”) For your sentence, keep it post-nominal: Laporan itu …

How would this look in Indonesian vs Malaysian usage?

The sentence works in both. You may also hear in Indonesian:

Laporannya sudah selesai (sekarang). (the clitic -nya often marks definiteness) Colloquial Indonesian uses udah for sudah. Formal kini can replace sekarang in both varieties.

Where is the English “it” in “It is finished now”?

Malay usually doesn’t use a separate “it” pronoun here. Laporan itu is the subject, and selesai is the predicate. A pronoun like ia/dia isn’t needed (and dia is typically for people).