Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

That request is approved only after the boss writes the second signature.

Breakdown of Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

• itu: that
• selepas: after
• bos: the boss
• menulis: to write
• kedua: second
• hanya: only
• tandatangan: the signature
• permintaan: the request
• diluluskan: to be approved

Questions & Answers about Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

What does itu do in permintaan itu? Is it “that request” or “the request”?

Itu is a demonstrative that usually means that, but in Malay it also works like a definite article (the).

• Permintaan itu can be translated as:
  • that request (if you are contrasting it with other requests), or
  • the request (if both speakers know which request is being talked about).

Without itu, permintaan is more general or indefinite, like a request:

• Permintaan diluluskan. – A request was approved / requests were approved.
• Permintaan itu diluluskan. – The request / that request was approved.

So itu makes the noun specific and identifiable, not just any request.

What exactly is permintaan? How is it formed, and is it different from permohonan?

Permintaan is a noun derived from the verb minta (to ask/request).

• Root: minta – to ask (for something)
• Noun form: permintaan – a request; demand

It focuses on the act of asking or the thing requested.

Permohonan is another noun, from mo(h)on (to apply, to request formally):

• permohonan – an application / a formal request (e.g. job application, visa application)

In many contexts they overlap, but:

• permohonan feels more formal / administrative.
• permintaan is more general, can be formal or informal, and can also mean demand (e.g. market demand: permintaan pasaran).

In your sentence, both Permintaan itu and Permohonan itu could work, depending on context and level of formality.

What is diluluskan exactly? How is it built, and why not just lulus?

Diluluskan is a passive verb meaning (to) be approved.

Breakdown:

• Root: lulus – to pass (an exam), to be approved
• Prefix: di- – marks a passive form (something is done to the subject)
• Suffix: -kan – often makes the verb transitive (to cause/make something lulus)

Together:

• meluluskan – to approve (something)
  
  • Bos meluluskan permintaan itu. – The boss approves/approved the request.
• diluluskan – to be approved
  
  • Permintaan itu diluluskan. – The request was approved.

In your sentence, the request is the thing being acted on, so the passive is natural, and diluluskan is the correct form. Just lulus would be incomplete here; you need the passive marker di- and the transitive -kan for the meaning was approved.

In English we say “was approved”. Where is “was” in Malay?

Malay usually doesn’t use a separate verb like was or is for the passive.

The passive meaning is carried by the verb form itself, with the prefix di-:

• diluluskan = was approved / is approved / will be approved
  (exact time is understood from context)

So:

• Permintaan itu diluluskan... – literally: That request di-approved...
  → interpreted as The request was approved...

No extra word for was is needed; di- already indicates that something happened to the subject. Tense (past vs present vs future) is usually understood from context and time expressions like selepas (after), sudah (already), akan (will), etc.

In a passive sentence like Permintaan itu diluluskan..., who is doing the approving? Why isn’t there an oleh phrase?

Malay frequently leaves the agent (the doer) unspoken if it’s obvious or not important.

• Permintaan itu diluluskan.
  – The request was approved. (by someone – maybe the boss, the manager, the committee, etc.)

You can add an oleh phrase to mention the agent:

• Permintaan itu diluluskan oleh bos hanya selepas dia menulis tandatangan kedua.
  – The request was approved by the boss only after he wrote the second signature.

But it’s not required. In your original sentence, the next phrase already mentions bos, so the listener will naturally connect the boss to the approval process, even without oleh.

Why is hanya placed before selepas (hanya selepas)? Could it also be Permintaan itu hanya diluluskan selepas...?

Both placements are possible, but they focus on slightly different things.

1. Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

   • Focus: the time condition – “only after” that time.
   • Emphasis: It didn’t get approved until after the second signature.

2. Permintaan itu hanya diluluskan selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

   • Focus: the fact of approval – it only got approved in that situation (not in other situations or times).
   • Still understood as “only after”, but the focus feels more on the verb diluluskan.

Both are grammatically correct and very natural. In everyday speech, many speakers wouldn’t feel much difference, but in careful writing:

• hanya selepas = stronger highlight on the timing condition
• hanya diluluskan = stronger highlight that approval happened only in one limited circumstance

You will also see selepas sahaja or selepas saja with a similar meaning:

• ...selepas sahaja bos menulis tandatangan kedua. – after the boss only then had written the second signature.

Is hanya selepas the only way to say “only after”? How else could this idea be expressed in Malay?

There are several common ways to express “only after”:

1. hanya selepas

   • Your sentence:
     Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

2. baru

   • Very common in speech and writing:
     Selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua, barulah permintaan itu diluluskan.
     – Only after the boss signed for the second time was the request approved.

3. selepas... sahaja / selepas... saja

   • Permintaan itu diluluskan selepas sahaja bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

4. hanya apabila (“only when”)

   • Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya apabila bos menulis tandatangan kedua.

All of these keep the same core meaning: there was a condition in time (the second signature) and only after that did the approval happen.

Why does the sentence say bos menulis tandatangan kedua instead of using a single verb like menandatangani?

Malay has several ways to express “sign”:

1. menulis tandatangan – literally “to write a signature”
   
   • Very common and clear.
2. menandatangani – a one-word verb “to sign” (something)
   
   • More compact, often slightly more formal.
3. menurunkan tandatangan – literally “to lower/put down a signature”
   
   • Common fixed expression in formal documents.

Your sentence uses option 1:

• bos menulis tandatangan kedua – the boss wrote the second signature.

You could also say:

• ...hanya selepas bos menandatangani buat kali kedua.
• ...hanya selepas bos menurunkan tandatangan buat kali kedua.

All are grammatical; the choice depends on preference and formality. Menulis tandatangan is straightforward for learners and widely understood.

Does tandatangan kedua mean “the second signature from the boss” or “the signature of a second person”?

On its own, tandatangan kedua is ambiguous. It literally means second signature, and context decides:

1. Second signature by the same person (the boss signs twice)
   • e.g. first on a draft, second on a final version.
2. Signature from a second signatory (e.g. boss is the second person who signs)
   • e.g. first the manager signs, then the boss as a second required signatory.

If you want to make it clearer:

• Second time by the same boss:
  • ...selepas bos menulis tandatangan buat kali kedua.
  • ...selepas bos menandatangani dokumen itu buat kali kedua.
• Signature of a second person:
  • ...selepas tandatangan kedua diperoleh.
  • ...selepas tandatangan bos sebagai penandatangan kedua diperoleh.

In many real contexts (office procedures, forms), people will understand which meaning is intended from the situation.

Is bos a formal word here? Would ketua or pengurus be better in formal Malay?

Bos is a widely used loanword (from English boss). It is:

• common in everyday speech,
• acceptable in a lot of written contexts,
• slightly informal in very formal or official writing.

More formal or specific alternatives include:

• ketua – leader, head
• pengurus – manager
• pengarah – director
• pengetua – principal (of a school)
• ketua jabatan – head of department

In a formal report, you might write:

• Permohonan itu diluluskan hanya selepas pengurus menandatangani buat kali kedua.

In neutral or semi-formal contexts, bos is usually fine and very natural.

How would the sentence look in active voice instead of passive?

Your sentence is passive:

• Permintaan itu diluluskan hanya selepas bos menulis tandatangan kedua.
  – The request was approved only after the boss wrote the second signature.

A natural active version would be:

• Bos meluluskan permintaan itu hanya selepas menulis tandatangan kedua.

Breakdown:

• Bos – subject (the doer)
• meluluskan – active verb “approved”
• permintaan itu – object
• hanya selepas menulis tandatangan kedua – time/condition phrase

Both versions are correct; Malay uses the passive a lot when the thing affected (here, the request) is the main focus.