Learn Hardcore Malay: Bos meminta saya menulis laporan tentang persoalan itu. - The boss asks me to write a report about that issue.

In casual and semi-formal contexts, bos is perfectly natural.
In more formal writing or official documents, people often prefer ketua, majikan, or pengurus, depending on the role.

About capitalization:

Bos is capitalized here because it’s at the beginning of the sentence.
In the middle of a sentence, you would normally write bos, unless it’s used as a sort of title or nickname, e.g. Saya serahkan hal ini kepada Bos. (when addressing someone as “Boss” directly).

Why is it meminta and not just minta? What’s the difference?

The root word is minta (to ask/request). When you add the prefix meN-, it becomes meminta.

Rough guide:

minta – more informal, can sound a bit “bare” or casual.
- Bos minta saya tulis laporan. (colloquial, spoken)
meminta – more formal/standard, preferred in writing and careful speech.
- Bos meminta saya menulis laporan. (standard, neutral to formal)

Both are correct in speech; meminta simply sounds more standard and is what you’ll see in textbooks and formal writing.

Is the structure meminta saya menulis laporan grammatical without untuk? Can I say meminta saya untuk menulis instead?

Yes, meminta saya menulis laporan is fully grammatical and very natural.

You can also say meminta saya untuk menulis laporan, but:

In everyday usage, untuk is often dropped in this pattern:
- meminta [person] [verb] [object]
- meminta saya menulis laporan
Adding untuk (meminta saya untuk menulis laporan) is acceptable and still quite common, especially in more formal or careful speech.

So both are correct. The version without untuk is slightly more compact and very typical in Malay.

In Bos meminta saya menulis laporan, what is the subject and what is the object? Where does saya fit?

The structure is:

Subject: Bos
Verb: meminta
Object (person being asked): saya
Verb phrase (what I am asked to do): menulis laporan

So Bos meminta saya menulis laporan literally patterns like:
Boss [asked] me [to write] a report.

Grammatically, saya is the object of meminta, and menulis laporan is a complement clause describing the action requested.

Could I omit saya and say Bos meminta menulis laporan tentang persoalan itu?

No, that sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Malay.

In this pattern, meminta normally needs to specify whom the boss is asking, especially when it is a person being asked to do something:

✔ Bos meminta saya menulis laporan.
✔ Bos meminta mereka menulis laporan.
✘ Bos meminta menulis laporan. (unnatural; sounds like something is missing)

You could, in some specific contexts, drop the person if it’s crystal clear from context, but most speakers would still find it odd in a simple sentence like this.

Can this sentence mean “The boss asked me”, “The boss is asking me”, or “The boss will ask me”? How is tense shown?

Malay verbs do not change form for tense, so meminta covers past, present, and future.
Bos meminta saya menulis laporan tentang persoalan itu can mean:

The boss asked me (past)
The boss is asking me (present)
The boss will ask me (future, though less likely without a time clue)

Context or time words show tense/aspect, for example:

Tadi bos meminta saya menulis laporan... (earlier, the boss asked me)
Sekarang bos meminta saya menulis laporan... (right now)
Esok bos akan meminta saya menulis laporan... (tomorrow, the boss will ask me)

What’s the difference between persoalan, soalan, masalah, and isu? Why use persoalan here?

All four can relate to “questions/issues”, but they have different nuances:

soalan – a question (as in an exam question, interview question). Very literal “question”.
masalah – a problem, difficulty. Often something that needs solving.
isu – an issue, often topical or public (political issue, social issue). Borrowed from issue.
persoalan – can mean “question” or “matter/issue under discussion”. It’s more formal and abstract.

In tentang persoalan itu, persoalan suggests “that matter/that issue under discussion” rather than a simple single question. It sounds a bit more formal and abstract than soalan itu.

Could I replace tentang with mengenai or berkenaan? Are there differences?

Yes, you can often replace tentang with mengenai or berkenaan with very similar meaning.

tentang persoalan itu – about that issue
mengenai persoalan itu – regarding/about that issue (slightly more formal)
berkenaan persoalan itu – concerning that issue (also more formal/official-sounding)

In everyday language, tentang is very common and neutral. mengenai and berkenaan show up more in formal writing, reports, and official documents, though they’re also understood in speech.

What is the function of itu in persoalan itu? Could I drop it?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that. In persoalan itu, it typically refers to:

a previously mentioned issue, or
a specific issue known to both speaker and listener.

Comparisons:

persoalan itu – that (specific) issue.
persoalan ini – this issue (nearer to speaker, or currently in focus).
persoalan (with no ini/itu) – more generic: “issues / questions / the issue (in general)”.

You can drop itu, but then it feels less specific:

Bos meminta saya menulis laporan tentang persoalan.
→ sounds like “about the issue(s) in general”, not a particular one you both already know.

So itu helps anchor it to a known, specific matter.

Should I add a classifier like sebuah before laporan? What’s the difference between laporan and sebuah laporan?

In Malay, nouns are often used without an article or classifier when the exact number is not important.

menulis laporan – to write a report (natural and common).
menulis sebuah laporan – to write one report (slightly more explicit about being a single report, and a bit more “bookish” in tone).

In most contexts like this, menulis laporan is enough and sounds very natural. Use sebuah laporan if you want to stress “one report” or in more formal, detailed writing.

Is saya the only pronoun I can use here? What about aku or kami?

Saya is the default polite, neutral I/me in Malay, suitable in almost all situations, especially with a boss.

Other options:

aku – informal, used with close friends, family, or when you’re being casual.
- Saying Bos minta aku menulis laporan to friends is fine, but you normally wouldn’t say aku directly to your boss.
kami – we (excluding the listener).
- Bos meminta kami menulis laporan... = The boss asked us (but not you) to write a report.
kita – we (including the listener).
- Bos meminta kita menulis laporan... = The boss asked us (including you) to write a report.

So saya is the safest and most appropriate with bos in a normal workplace context.

How would I say “I was asked by the boss to write a report about that issue” in Malay? Is there a passive version?

Yes, you can make a passive sentence using di-:

Saya diminta oleh bos untuk menulis laporan tentang persoalan itu.

Breakdown:

Saya – I
diminta – was asked (di- passive form of minta/meminta)
oleh bos – by the boss
untuk menulis laporan – to write a report
tentang persoalan itu – about that issue

You can also drop oleh in many spoken contexts:

Saya diminta bos untuk menulis laporan tentang persoalan itu.

If I move saya, does the meaning change? For example, Bos meminta laporan saya tentang persoalan itu?

Yes, the meaning changes:

Bos meminta saya menulis laporan tentang persoalan itu.
→ The boss asked me to write a report about that issue.
Bos meminta laporan saya tentang persoalan itu.
→ The boss asked for my report about that issue (the report already exists, and the boss wants to see it).

So:

meminta saya menulis = asks me to do the writing.
meminta laporan saya = asks for a report that already belongs to me / was written by me.

Is there any difference between menulis and tulis after meminta? Could I say Bos minta saya tulis laporan...?

Yes, both patterns exist, but they differ in formality:

Bos meminta saya menulis laporan...
→ Standard, formal-ish, both verbs in the meN- form (meminta, menulis).
Bos minta saya tulis laporan...
→ Common in everyday spoken Malay; both verbs in their root form (minta, tulis).

You would usually not mix a formal verb with a bare root in the same clause in careful writing:

✔ meminta saya menulis (formal/standard)
✔ minta saya tulis (colloquial)
✘ meminta saya tulis (can occur in speech, but looks inconsistent in formal writing)

So, yes, Bos minta saya tulis laporan... is very natural in conversation.