Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat.

That campaign is important for society.

Breakdown of Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat.

• adalah: to be
• itu: that
• penting: important
• untuk: for
• masyarakat: the society
• kempen: the campaign

Questions & Answers about Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat.

Why is there no word for “is” in Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat?

Malay usually does not use a separate verb for “to be” (like is/are/am) when the predicate is an adjective or a noun.

• Kempen itu penting literally: “That campaign important”
  but it means: “That campaign is important.”

The adjective penting itself functions as the predicate. So you don’t need a linking verb like is.

This is normal in Malay:

• Dia tinggi. → He/She is tall.
• Makanan itu sedap. → That food is delicious.

What exactly does itu mean here? Is it “that” or “the”?

Itu is a demonstrative that can mean:

• “that” (pointing to something further away or already known), or
• a kind of “the”, marking something as specific/definite.

In Kempen itu penting…, kempen itu usually means:

• “that campaign” (the one we’ve been talking about)
  or
• “the campaign” (a specific one known in context).

Malay doesn’t have separate words for “the” and “that”; itu often covers both roles, depending on context.

Why is itu placed after kempen instead of before it, like in English?

In Malay, the normal pattern is:

• Noun + itu = that/the [noun]
  
  • kempen itu = that/the campaign
  • rumah itu = that/the house

You can sometimes see itu before a noun (itu kempen), but:

• Kempen itu
  
  • Neutral, standard way to say “that campaign” or “the campaign”.
• Itu kempen
  
  • Less common, sounds more like “that (one), the campaign”, with stronger emphasis/contrast, often in spoken language or for pointing:
    
    • Itu kempen baharu kerajaan. → That (one) is the new government campaign.

For most normal sentences, use Noun + itu.

Can I say Kempen itu adalah penting untuk masyarakat? Is that correct?

You can see this in very formal or academic writing, but in everyday Malay it sounds a bit stiff or unnatural.

Guideline:

• With adjectives like penting, besar, mahal, sedap:
  • Just use the adjective as the predicate, without adalah.
    
    • Kempen itu penting. ✓ (most natural)
    • Perkara ini penting. ✓
• Adalah is more commonly used when the predicate is:
  • A noun phrase:
    
    • Tugas kami adalah memberikan maklumat.
  • Or sometimes a prepositional phrase in formal writing.

So for this sentence, Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat (without adalah) is the best choice.

What does masyarakat really mean? Is it “people”, “public”, or “society”?

Masyarakat is a general word meaning:

• society,
• community, or
• the public / people as a group.

In English you might translate it differently depending on context:

• Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat.
  
  • That campaign is important for society.
  • That campaign is important for the community.
  • That campaign is important for the public.

A few contrasts:

• masyarakat – society/community as a whole
• orang ramai – literally many people, often the public / crowd
• rakyat – the people of a country (citizens), often in a political context

Could I replace untuk with bagi or kepada here?

In this sentence, untuk is the most natural choice, but:

• untuk = for (purpose, benefit, target)
  • Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat. ✓
• bagi = for, with a more formal/literary feel; often interchangeable with untuk in formal contexts:
  • Kempen itu penting bagi masyarakat. ✓ (more formal style)
• kepada = to, towards, to (someone)
  • More about direction or giving something to someone:
    • Dia memberi maklumat kepada masyarakat. → He/she gives information to the public.

So:

• untuk masyarakat → for the community (benefit/importance to them)
• kepada masyarakat → to the community (something is given/said to them)

In the original sentence, untuk (or formal bagi) is appropriate; kepada would sound wrong.

How would I say “This campaign is important for the community” and “These campaigns are important for the community” in Malay?

Malay handles this/that and singular/plural a bit differently.

This campaign is important for the community.

• Kempen ini penting untuk masyarakat.
  
  • ini = this (near speaker)
  • itu = that (further away / already mentioned)

These campaigns are important for the community.

Malay often does not mark plural unless needed, so you can say:

• Kempen ini penting untuk masyarakat.
  
  • Could mean “This campaign is important…” or “These campaigns are important…” depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize plural:

• Kempen-kempen ini penting untuk masyarakat.
  
  • kempen-kempen = campaigns (plural, by repetition)

So:

• ini vs itu → this vs that
• Repeating the noun (kempen-kempen) is one way to make the plural explicit.

Can I change the word order to Masyarakat penting untuk kempen itu? Does it mean the same?

No, that changes the meaning.

• Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat.

  • Focus: the campaign is important for the community.

• Masyarakat penting untuk kempen itu.

  • Literally: “The community is important for that campaign.”
  • Now masyarakat is the subject, and kempen itu becomes the thing that benefits from the community.

Malay word order is generally:

• [Subject] + [Predicate] + [Extra info]

So swapping kempen itu and masyarakat flips who is important for whom.

How do you pronounce masyarakat, and where is the stress?

Masyarakat has four syllables:

• ma-sya-ra-kat

Rough guide (using English-like sounds):

• ma – like ma in mama
• sya – like sha in shark (Malay sy sounds like sh)
• ra – like ra in radio (rolled or tapped r)
• kat – like cut but with k at the start: kat

Stress in Malay is usually quite even, but if you need a guide, put a light stress on the second-last syllable:

• ma-sya-ra-kat

Does kempen only mean a political campaign, or can it be other types too?

Kempen is a general word for campaign and can be:

• Political:
  • kempen pilihan raya – election campaign
• Social / public-awareness:
  • kempen kesedaran kesihatan – health awareness campaign
• Marketing:
  • kempen iklan – advertising campaign

In Kempen itu penting untuk masyarakat, without extra context, it could be:

• a health campaign,
• a safety campaign,
• an environmental campaign, etc.,
  not necessarily political.