Pengurus itu menjelaskan bahawa konflik biasa berlaku, selagi semua orang hormat antara satu sama lain.

That manager explains that conflicts are normal, as long as everyone respects one another.

Breakdown of Pengurus itu menjelaskan bahawa konflik biasa berlaku, selagi semua orang hormat antara satu sama lain.

• itu: that
• semua: all
• orang: the person
• biasa: usual
• berlaku: to happen
• menjelaskan: to explain
• bahawa: that
• satu sama lain: each other
• hormat: to respect
• selagi: as long as
• pengurus: the manager
• antara: among
• konflik: the conflict

Questions & Answers about Pengurus itu menjelaskan bahawa konflik biasa berlaku, selagi semua orang hormat antara satu sama lain.

What does pengurus itu literally mean, and why do we add itu after pengurus?

Pengurus = manager
itu = that / the (specific)

So pengurus itu literally means that manager / the manager (that we’ve mentioned or both know about).

Malay often uses itu after a noun to show that it’s specific or already known in the context, similar to English the or that.

Without itu:

• pengurus = a manager / managers (in general)
• pengurus itu = the manager / that manager (a particular one)

How is menjelaskan formed, and what’s the difference between jelas and menjelaskan?

• jelas = clear (adjective) or to be clear
• Prefix meN-
  • root jelas → menjelaskan = to explain / to make something clear

So:

• jelas: The idea is clear. → Idea itu jelas.
• menjelaskan: She explains the idea. → Dia menjelaskan idea itu.

Menjelaskan is a verb that takes an object (what you explain). In your sentence, the “thing explained” is the whole clause after bahawa.

What is the function of bahawa, and can it be left out?

bahawa is a conjunction that introduces a “that”-clause, like English that in “He explained that conflict is normal…”.

Function:

• menjelaskan bahawa … = explain that …

In everyday spoken Malay, bahawa is often dropped:

• Pengurus itu menjelaskan konflik biasa berlaku…
  → This sounds a bit clumsy, but people do sometimes drop bahawa in casual speech.
• More natural casual version: Pengurus itu jelaskan yang konflik biasa berlaku… (using yang instead of bahawa).

In formal or careful written Malay, bahawa is recommended and sounds more polished, so the original sentence is stylistically good.

What does konflik biasa berlaku literally mean? Why is biasa before berlaku?

Word-by-word:

• konflik = conflict
• biasa = usual / normal
• berlaku = happen / occur

Literal sense: “conflict (is) usual happens” → more naturally: “conflict usually happens / it is normal for conflict to happen.”

Why is biasa placed there?

• In Malay, biasa can behave like an adjective or like an adverb meaning usually / normally.
• Here it modifies berlaku (happen), so biasa berlaku ≈ normally happens / commonly occurs.
• You could also rephrase:
  • Konflik memang biasa berlaku. (conflict really is common)
  • Konflik biasanya berlaku. (conflict usually happens)

You would not say berlaku konflik biasa to mean “conflict usually happens”; that would sound like “an ordinary conflict happened”, which is a different meaning.

Is there any tense marker in this sentence? How do we know it’s “explained” (past) and not “explains / will explain”?

Malay generally does not mark tense on the verb. Menjelaskan can mean:

• explains (present)
• explained (past)
• will explain (future)

The tense is understood from context (or from explicit time words like semalam “yesterday”, nanti “later”, etc.).

In a story or narrative, menjelaskan is usually read as past (“explained”). In a general statement, it might be read as present.

So the sentence itself is grammatically tense-neutral; English needs a tense, Malay does not.

What exactly does selagi mean, and how is it different from words like jika, apabila, or semasa?

selagi most directly means “as long as (while a condition is true)”.

Compare:

• selagi = as long as (condition + time span)
  • Selagi semua orang hormat…, konflik biasa berlaku.
    → As long as everyone respects…, conflict is normal.

Other connectors:

• jika = if (pure condition, no idea of duration)
• apabila = when (time of event)
• semasa = while / during (time, not condition)

If you used jika instead:

• …jika semua orang hormat… = if everyone respects…
  This focuses more on condition, less on “for as long as that situation continues”.

Selagi naturally combines a time span + condition: throughout the time that X remains true.

What does semua orang mean exactly? How is it different from setiap orang or orang ramai?

• semua orang = everyone, all people (in that group)
  
  • Focuses on the group as a whole.
• setiap orang = each person
  
  • Focuses on individuals, one by one.
• orang ramai = the public, the crowd, many people
  
  • More like “the general public / a large group of people”, not literally every single one.

In your sentence, selagi semua orang hormat… implies all the people involved in the situation, taken as a group.

Why is hormat used instead of menghormati? Aren’t verbs usually with meN-?

Base form: hormat
Verb form: menghormati = to respect

In standard, careful Malay, you would most commonly see:

• selagi semua orang saling menghormati = as long as everyone respects each other

However, in informal or semi-formal usage, it’s very common to use the base form of some verbs (especially common or short ones) instead of the meN- form, e.g.:

• hormat orang tua = respect elders
• jaga hati dia = look after his/her feelings

So:

• semua orang hormat antara satu sama lain is a slightly more colloquial or relaxed way of saying semua orang menghormati antara satu sama lain.
• Grammatically, menghormati is the “full” verb; hormat here is a shortened, everyday-style form.

What does antara satu sama lain mean literally, and how is it used?

Breakdown:

• antara = between / among
• satu = one
• sama = same
• lain = other

The fixed phrase satu sama lain means each other / one another.
So antara satu sama lain literally = between one another, which matches English “each other”.

Usage:

• Mereka bantu satu sama lain. = They help each other.
• Mereka hormat antara satu sama lain. = They respect one another.

You can also say:

• antara mereka = among them / between them
  → Mereka hormat antara mereka. (understandable, but antara satu sama lain is more idiomatic for “each other”).

Can I move selagi to the front of the sentence, like in English: “As long as …, the manager explained that …”?

Yes. Malay allows you to move the selagi-clause to the front:

• Selagi semua orang hormat antara satu sama lain, pengurus itu menjelaskan bahawa konflik biasa berlaku.

This is still grammatical. The difference is mostly in emphasis:

• Original: first focuses on what the manager explained, then gives the condition.
• Fronted selagi: first highlights the condition (as long as…), then mentions what the manager explained.

Both are natural; choice depends on what you want to emphasize.

Is konflik a Malay word or a loanword? Are there more “native” alternatives?

konflik is a loanword, originally from English conflict (via international vocabulary). It’s fully accepted and very common in modern Malay, especially in:

• business / management
• social sciences
• news and media

More “native” or traditional options include:

• pertelingkahan = dispute, quarrel
• perselisihan = disagreement
• perbalahan = quarrel, conflict

So you could also say, for example:

• Pengurus itu menjelaskan bahawa pertelingkahan memang biasa berlaku…

But konflik sounds perfectly natural and modern.

Could we use adalah in this sentence, like konflik adalah biasa berlaku?

No, konflik adalah biasa berlaku is not natural Malay.

Key points:

• adalah typically links a subject to a noun phrase or sometimes an adjective, not to another full verb phrase.
  • Natural: Konflik adalah perkara biasa. = Conflict is a common thing.
  • Natural: Konflik adalah normal. = Conflict is normal.
• berlaku is already a verb (happen), so you don’t need adalah.

So for “conflict normally happens / is common”, you use:

• Konflik biasa berlaku.
• Konflik memang biasa berlaku.
• Konflik adalah perkara biasa. (here adalah is fine because perkara biasa is a noun phrase)

What is the overall word order compared to English? Is Malay following the same basic pattern here?

Rough mapping:

• Pengurus itu → the manager (subject)
• menjelaskan → explained (verb)
• bahawa konflik biasa berlaku → that conflict is normal / usually happens (object clause)
• selagi semua orang hormat antara satu sama lain → as long as everyone respects one another (conditional clause)

So the basic order is:

• Subject – Verb – (Object clause) – (Conditional clause)

This is very close to English word order:

• The manager (subject)
  explained (verb)
  that conflict is normal (object clause)
  as long as everyone respects one another (conditional clause).

Malay is generally SVO (Subject–Verb–Object), and this sentence follows that pattern.