Breakdown of Pemimpin pelajar itu berkata, “Kalau kita ikut peraturan, kita tak akan kena denda.”
Questions & Answers about Pemimpin pelajar itu berkata, “Kalau kita ikut peraturan, kita tak akan kena denda.”
Pemimpin pelajar itu literally means that student leader or more naturally the student leader.
- pemimpin = leader (from the verb pimpin, to lead)
- pelajar = student
- itu = that / the
In Malay, demonstratives like itu (that) often come after the noun they modify, so:
- pemimpin pelajar itu ≈ “that student leader” → usually understood as “the student leader” in context.
So Malay doesn’t need a separate word for “the”; itu often plays that role when put after a noun phrase.
Yes, there is a nuance, although in casual speech both may be used for “student”:
- murid – more often used for school pupils, especially primary/secondary school.
- pelajar – more general and slightly more formal; very common for students at any level, especially secondary school and university.
In pemimpin pelajar, pelajar feels more natural, because it sounds a bit more formal and can include older students (e.g., a prefect, a student council leader).
berkata means to say or to speak. It is slightly more formal or neutral.
berkata – used in writing, narration, news, and more formal speech.
- Pemimpin pelajar itu berkata… = “The student leader said…”
cakap – very common in everyday spoken Malay, more informal/colloquial.
- Pemimpin pelajar itu cakap… = “The student leader said…” (more casual tone)
Both can translate as said, but berkata sounds more standard/formal than cakap.
Kalau means if in this sentence:
- Kalau kita ikut peraturan… = If we follow the rules…
You can replace kalau with jika:
- Jika kita ikut peraturan, kita tak akan kena denda.
The difference:
- kalau – very common in speech; neutral in most contexts; slightly informal compared with jika, but still widely used in writing too.
- jika – more formal / written style (e.g., official letters, exams, legal texts).
Meaning-wise they are the same here.
Yes, both mean we, but they are used differently:
- kita = we (including the person spoken to)
- kami = we (excluding the person spoken to)
In the sentence:
- Kalau kita ikut peraturan, kita tak akan kena denda.
→ The speaker includes the people being addressed: “If we (you and I / all of us) follow the rules, we won’t be punished.”
If the leader said kami, it would mean only “we” (not including the listener), which would sound strange here, because the whole point is to talk to the group and include them.
Ikut literally means to follow. It can also mean to go along with, to obey, or to comply with, depending on the object.
In this sentence:
- ikut peraturan = follow the rules / obey the rules / comply with the rules
So Kalau kita ikut peraturan can be understood as If we obey the rules.
Peraturan means rules or regulations.
- From the root atur (arrange) → aturan/peraturan (arrangement, rules).
- Common in contexts like school rules, company rules, club rules: peraturan sekolah, peraturan syarikat.
Undang-undang specifically means laws (as in legal laws of a country).
So:
- ikut peraturan = follow the (school/house/club) rules
- ikut undang-undang = obey the law
tak is the informal/short form of tidak, the standard negator for verbs and adjectives.
In the sentence:
- kita tak akan kena denda
= we will not be punished / we won’t get punished
Comparison:
- tidak – standard, more formal:
- kita tidak akan kena denda (perfectly correct and more formal)
- tak – very common in daily conversation and informal writing:
- kita tak akan kena denda
Meaning is the same; the difference is mainly formality.
In Malay, when you have the negator tidak/tak with akan (will), the normal order is:
[subject] + tidak/tak + akan + verb / complement
So:
- kita tak akan kena denda = we will not get punished
The pattern is:
- kita (subject)
- tak (negator)
- akan (future marker “will”)
- kena denda (verb phrase “get punished”)
Akan tak is not used; tidak/tak almost always comes before akan.
Kena is a very flexible word. In this sentence, kena denda means to get punished / to be fined / to receive punishment.
General idea: kena + [something negative] = to be affected by / to suffer / to get [that thing]
Examples:
- kena marah = get scolded
- kena tipu = get cheated
- kena hujan = get rained on
- kena denda = get punished / get a fine
In some colloquial contexts, kena can be associated with “to get hit” (e.g., kena pukul = get beaten), but by itself here kena does not mean “to hit”; it means “to be subjected to / to get” the punishment.
Yes, you can say didenda, and it is also correct:
- kita tak akan didenda = we will not be punished/fined
Difference in feel:
- kena denda – more colloquial, everyday, and slightly more “spoken” in style.
- didenda – more formal, typical of official writing, exams, or formal announcements (passive form: di-
- denda).
Meaning is very close. In casual speech, kena denda sounds very natural. In a formal written notice, didenda would be more likely.
Akan is not strictly necessary. Without akan, the sentence still makes sense:
- Kalau kita ikut peraturan, kita tak kena denda.
This can mean:
- “If we follow the rules, we don’t get punished.”
or in context, still understood as a general future-like statement.
Adding akan:
- kita tak akan kena denda
emphasises future (we will not get punished).
So:
- With akan – more clearly future-oriented.
- Without akan – more general, but often still interpreted as general future/habitual depending on context.
The sentence has two clauses:
- Kalau kita ikut peraturan,
- kita tak akan kena denda.
Repeating kita in the second clause is normal and slightly emphasizes “we”:
- “If we follow the rules, we will not be punished.”
You can omit the second kita, especially in speech, and it will still be understandable:
- Kalau kita ikut peraturan, tak akan kena denda.
This sounds a bit more casual. In careful or formal writing, keeping the subject (kita) in both clauses is preferred for clarity.