Pendaftaran untuk kem alam sekitar itu percuma, tetapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas.

Registration for that environmental camp is free, but we still have to pay the bus fee.

Breakdown of Pendaftaran untuk kem alam sekitar itu percuma, tetapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas.

• adalah: to be
• itu: that
• bas: the bus
• untuk: for
• perlu: to need
• masih: still
• tetapi: but
• kami: we
• percuma: free
• bayar: to pay
• alam sekitar: the environment
• kem: the camp
• pendaftaran: the registration
• yuran: the fee

Questions & Answers about Pendaftaran untuk kem alam sekitar itu percuma, tetapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas.

What does pendaftaran mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Pendaftaran means registration (the act or process of registering).

It comes from the root verb daftar (to register / a list) with the prefix peN- and suffix -an:

• daftar → mendaftar = to register (verb, with meN-)
• daftar → pendaftaran = registration (noun, with peN-…-an)

So:

• pendaftaran = the registration process / act of signing up, not the camp itself.

Why is untuk used after pendaftaran? Can I say the sentence without untuk?

In pendaftaran untuk kem alam sekitar itu, the preposition untuk means for:

• pendaftaran untuk kem alam sekitar itu
  = registration for that environmental camp

You can say:

• Pendaftaran kem alam sekitar itu percuma…

This is also correct and common. The difference:

• pendaftaran kem alam sekitar itu
  = registration of that environmental camp (slightly more compact)
• pendaftaran untuk kem alam sekitar itu
  = registration for that environmental camp (more explicit, a bit more formal/clear)

Both are acceptable; untuk just makes the relationship very clear, similar to English.

What does kem alam sekitar mean, and how does the word order work?

Kem alam sekitar literally is:

• kem = camp
• alam sekitar = environment / surroundings
• Together: environment camp or environmental camp

In Malay, the main noun comes first, and the describing part comes after it:

• kem alam sekitar = camp (kem) [of] environment (alam sekitar)
• buku sejarah = history book
• guru bahasa Inggeris = English language teacher

So kem alam sekitar is “environmental camp”, not “campy environment” or “around-the-camp nature”.

What is the function of itu in kem alam sekitar itu?

Itu is a demonstrative meaning that (or sometimes the in a definite sense).

• kem alam sekitar = an environmental camp (general)
• kem alam sekitar itu = that environmental camp / the environmental camp (a specific one you and the listener know about)

Malay doesn’t have articles like a / the, so itu (that) and ini (this) often take over that job of making something definite:

• kem itu = that/the camp
• kem ini = this/the camp

Here, itu shows we’re talking about a particular camp that is already known in the context.

Does percuma only mean “free (no cost)”, or does it have other meanings?

In this sentence, percuma means free of charge.

Common meanings of percuma:

1. Free (no payment)

   • Pendaftaran … percuma. = Registration is free.

2. Useless / in vain / for nothing (more figurative)

   • Dia marah percuma. = He got angry for nothing.
   • Usaha kita tidak percuma. = Our efforts are not in vain.

Here, because we’re clearly talking about paying fees, percuma is understood as no cost.

A near-synonym for “free (price)” is gratis, used in more formal or promotional contexts:

• Masuk adalah percuma / gratis.

What is the difference between kami and kita, and why is kami used here?

Both kami and kita mean we / us, but:

• kami = we (excluding the listener)
• kita = we (including the listener)

In the sentence:

• … tetapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas.
  = but we still need to pay the bus fee.

Using kami implies:

• The speaker is talking about a group that does not include the person being spoken to.
  For example, a teacher explaining to a colleague about the students, or a parent explaining about their family.

If the speaker wanted to include the listener in that group (e.g. talking to another parent who’s also going), they would say kita instead:

• … tetapi kita masih perlu bayar yuran bas.
  = but we (you and I and others) still need to pay the bus fee.

Why is it masih perlu? What nuance does masih add, and can we drop it?

• perlu = need / must / have to (but usually softer than mesti)
• masih = still (continuing state)

So:

• masih perlu bayar = still need to pay

Nuance of masih:

• Emphasizes that even though one thing is free (registration), there is still another cost that remains.

If you remove masih:

• … tetapi kami perlu bayar yuran bas.
  = but we need to pay the bus fee.

This is correct, but it loses the contrastive “still” feeling. The original sentence uses masih to highlight that a cost remains despite the registration being free.

Why is it bayar and not membayar? Are both forms correct?

The root verb is bayar (to pay).

The meN- form is membayar. Both are grammatical:

• bayar = pay (bare form, very common in everyday speech)
• membayar = to pay (more formal, often written Malay)

In modern usage:

• Kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas. (natural, casual–neutral)
• Kami masih perlu membayar yuran bas. (more formal, for writing or speeches)

Meaning is the same. In many spoken and even written contexts, Malaysians regularly use the bare verb (bayar, makan, beli, etc.) after modal-like words such as mau/mahu, hendak, boleh, perlu, harus:

• Saya perlu bayar.
• Saya mahu makan.
• Dia boleh datang.

So bayar here is perfectly standard in everyday use.

What does yuran bas mean, and how is it different from tambang bas?

• yuran = fee (usually for membership, a course, a program, an event, etc.)
• bas = bus

So yuran bas is the bus fee in the sense of a fixed fee collected (often by the organizer) to cover bus costs for the camp.

Tambang bas is the bus fare (the price you pay to the transport provider per journey, per person).

Difference in feel:

• yuran bas → usually a set fee you pay to the school/organizer for the bus arrangement.
• tambang bas → the bus fare itself, what you pay directly to the bus company or driver.

In the context of a school camp or organized trip, yuran bas is very natural, because the school collects the money as a “camp bus fee”.

Why is it yuran bas, not bas yuran? How does noun order work here?

In Malay, when you have two nouns together:

• The first noun is the main thing.
• The second noun further describes or specifies it.

So:

• yuran bas
  = fee (yuran) [for the] bus (bas)
  = bus fee
• tiket bas
  = ticket (tiket) [for the] bus (bas)
  = bus ticket
• kem alam sekitar
  = camp (kem) [of] environment (alam sekitar)

If you said bas yuran, it would sound like “fee bus” and be incorrect or confusing. The pattern is:

• [type of thing] + [what it’s related to]
  yuran + bas
  tiket + bas
  yuran + kem

So the correct order is yuran bas.

Is the comma before tetapi necessary, and what’s the difference between tetapi and tapi?

The comma is natural and stylistically correct:

• Pendaftaran … percuma, tetapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas.

It mirrors English:

• “Registration is free, but we still need to pay the bus fee.”

About tetapi vs tapi:

• tetapi = but / however (more formal)
• tapi = shortened, more colloquial version, very common in speech

You could say:

• … percuma, tetapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas. (formal–neutral)
• … percuma, tapi kami masih perlu bayar yuran bas. (more informal)

Both are widely understood; context and register determine which is more appropriate.