Learn Hardcore Malay: Kanak-kanak berhak mendapat maklumat asas yang jelas. - Children have the right to receive clear basic information.

In Malay, repeating a noun (reduplication) often indicates plural or a collective group. The hyphen simply shows the word is reduplicated: kanak + kanak → kanak-kanak.

So:

kanak-kanak = children (as a group)
It is not usually used to mean just one child.

Is kanak-kanak always plural? How do I say “a child” in Malay?

In most contexts, kanak-kanak is understood as plural or collective: children.

To say a child, Malay speakers more often use:

seorang kanak-kanak (literally: one person child)
or simply seorang budak / seorang anak in everyday speech, depending on context

So:

kanak-kanak (no classifier) = children (in general)
seorang kanak-kanak = a (single) child

What is the difference between kanak-kanak, anak-anak, and budak?

All three can relate to children, but with different nuances:

kanak-kanak
- More formal, neutral, often used in legal, educational, or official contexts.
- Rough equivalent of children / minors.
anak-anak
- Literally children (plural of anak = child/offspring).
- Often used:
  - for your own children: anak-anak saya = my children
  - or children in general in everyday speech.
- Can sound more personal or family-related.
budak
- Informal, can mean kid, boy/girl, or young person.
- In some contexts it can sound slightly casual or even a bit condescending, depending on tone: e.g. budak itu = that kid.

In a rights statement like Kanak-kanak berhak…, kanak-kanak is the most appropriate, neutral, formal choice.

What exactly does berhak mean?

Berhak means to have the right (to something) or to be entitled (to something).

It comes from:

hak = right (as in human rights, legal rights)
prefix ber- = roughly “to have / to possess / to be in the state of”

So berhak ≈ to have rights / to be entitled.

In English, the sentence is like:

Children are entitled to receive clear basic information.
or Children have the right to obtain clear basic information.

Is berhak a verb or an adjective? Do I need a word like “are” before it?

In Malay, berhak functions like a stative verb (something between a verb and an adjective). You do not need a separate “to be” verb like are.

So:

English: Children are entitled to receive…
Malay: Kanak-kanak berhak mendapat…
(literally: Children entitled get…)

Malay does not use a separate am/is/are here. Berhak itself carries the meaning “are entitled / have the right”.

Why is it berhak mendapat and not berhak untuk mendapat?

Both structures exist:

berhak mendapat X
berhak untuk mendapat X

In many sentences, untuk (to) can be omitted without changing the meaning. Adding untuk can make the structure slightly more explicit or formal, but berhak mendapat is already correct and natural, especially in concise written statements.

So:

Kanak-kanak berhak mendapat maklumat asas yang jelas.
Kanak-kanak berhak untuk mendapat maklumat asas yang jelas.

Both are acceptable; the given sentence is just a bit more compact.

What is the difference between mendapat and menerima here?

Both relate to getting something, but with different nuances:

mendapat = to get / to obtain (neutral, general)
menerima = to receive (emphasises receiving from someone/something)

In rights-based language, mendapat is very common, because it’s broad:

berhak mendapat maklumat = have the right to get / obtain information

You could say berhak menerima maklumat asas yang jelas, and it would be understood, but:

mendapat feels more standard and neutral in legal/official wording.
menerima can make you think more about the moment of receiving from a giver.

So mendapat is the more typical choice here.

What does maklumat mean, and is it countable?

Maklumat means information.

Like English information, maklumat is generally treated as uncountable:

You don’t normally say “one maklumat, two maklumat” in standard Malay.
If you need to count pieces of information, you use classifiers or other words, e.g.
- satu maklumat penting (one important piece of information – sounds a bit stiff)
- beberapa maklumat asas (some basic information)
- or: beberapa perkara / butir maklumat (several pieces/items of information)

In everyday use, maklumat on its own is fine as a mass noun: maklumat asas = basic information.

Is maklumat the same as informasi?

They are closely related but not always interchangeable in style:

maklumat
- Very common and natural in Malay.
- Sounds neutral to slightly formal.
- Widely used in government, education, general writing.
informasi
- A borrowing from the word information (via Indonesian/English).
- Also understood and used, especially in technical, academic, or media contexts.
- In Malaysia, maklumat is often preferred in official Malay documents.

In this sentence, maklumat asas yang jelas sounds perfectly natural and appropriately formal.

What does asas mean exactly?

Asas means basic, fundamental, or foundational.

So:

maklumat asas = basic information / fundamental information

You may also see asas in words like:

berasas = well-founded / with a basis
asas-asas = foundations / basic principles

In this sentence, it carries the idea that children have the right to the essential, foundational information they need.

Why is the order maklumat asas yang jelas and not something like maklumat yang jelas asas?

Malay typically has:

Noun + Adjective (opposite of English)

Here:

maklumat = information (noun)
asas = basic (adjective)
yang jelas = that is clear / which is clear

The structure is:

Head noun phrase: maklumat asas (basic information)
Further description via yang-clause: yang jelas (that is clear)

So maklumat asas yang jelas ≈ basic information that is clear.

Maklumat yang jelas asas is not natural; yang usually introduces a phrase that directly follows the noun (or noun + basic adjective). The given order is the normal, grammatical one.

What exactly does yang do in maklumat asas yang jelas?

Yang is a relativizer / linker. It connects a noun (or noun phrase) to a descriptive phrase, similar to that, which, or who in English.

In maklumat asas yang jelas:

maklumat asas = basic information
yang jelas = that is clear

So the whole phrase means:

basic information that is clear

Functionally:

yang turns jelaas into a description specifically tied to maklumat asas.

Without yang, maklumat asas jelas is possible but less smooth; with yang, it sounds more standard and clearly structured in formal written Malay.

Could I say just maklumat yang jelas without asas? Would the meaning change?

Yes, you can say maklumat yang jelas:

maklumat yang jelas = information that is clear

If you remove asas, you lose the “basic/fundamental” nuance. The sentence would then mean that children have the right to clear information, but not specifically basic information.

So:

maklumat asas yang jelas = clear basic information
maklumat yang jelas = clear information (any level, not necessarily basic)

Is this sentence formal or informal Malay?

The sentence Kanak-kanak berhak mendapat maklumat asas yang jelas. is formal, standard Malay. It’s the kind of wording you would find in:

legal documents
children’s rights charters
official guidelines or policy texts
educational or NGO publications

For informal speech, people might phrase things more loosely, but this sentence is very appropriate for written or official contexts.

How would this sentence be pronounced, especially kanak-kanak and berhak?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English-style syllables):

kanak-kanak:
- ka-nak ka-nak
- each a like the a in father, but shorter
- stress is fairly even: KA-nak KA-nak (not strongly on one syllable)
berhak:
- ber-hak
- ber like “ber” in Bert (but with a clearer e sound)
- hak with a like father, ending in a hard k sound
mendapat:
- men-da-pat (all short, clear vowels)
maklumat:
- mak-lu-mat
asas:
- a-sas (both a like in father, the second s is clear)
jelas:
- je-las (the e like e in bed, a like in father)

Malay pronunciation is generally very regular: each vowel is pronounced, and stress is relatively even compared to English.