Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya buka pelayar web dan mencari maklumat tentang watak sejarah di laman sesawang kerajaan. - I open a web browser and look for information about a historical character on the government website.

tadi – earlier / just now
- Saya buka pelayar web tadi. – I opened the web browser earlier.
sekarang – now
- Saya buka pelayar web sekarang. – I’m opening the web browser now.
nanti – later
- Saya akan buka pelayar web nanti. – I will open the web browser later.

So in your sentence, buka will usually be understood as opened (past) if the surrounding context is in the past.

What is the difference between buka and membuka? Could I say Saya membuka pelayar web instead?

Both buka and membuka mean to open.

buka: base form, common in everyday spoken Malay
membuka: with the prefix meN-, more formal and typical in written language

Both sentences are correct:

Saya buka pelayar web. – I open(ed) the web browser. (colloquial / neutral spoken)
Saya membuka pelayar web. – I open(ed) the web browser. (more formal / written)

In a fully formal style, you’d normally make both verbs in the sentence match in style:

Saya membuka pelayar web dan mencari maklumat... (both membuka and mencari formal)
Saya buka pelayar web dan cari maklumat... (both buka and cari colloquial)

Why is it buka but mencari (not cari) in the same sentence? Is that strange?

Grammatically, it’s still fine, but stylistically it mixes levels of formality:

buka – casual / everyday
mencari – more formal than cari

Native speakers do sometimes mix forms like this in speech or informal writing, but if you want to sound consistent:

Fully formal: Saya membuka pelayar web dan mencari maklumat...
Fully casual: Saya buka pelayar web dan cari maklumat...

As a learner, it’s good practice to keep the style consistent within one sentence unless you have a reason not to.

What does pelayar web mean exactly? Is it the same as browser?

Yes. pelayar web = web browser.

Breakdown:

layar – to sail / to surf (originally with boats, later extended to screens)
pe- + layar → pelayar – a person or thing that sails / navigates
web – the web

So pelayar web literally means something like web navigator, which matches the idea of a browser.

In everyday speech you will also hear:

browser (borrowed from English)
pelayar internet

All of these are understandable. pelayar web is the more standard Malay term.

What does maklumat mean, and how is it different from informasi or info?

maklumat means information.

Key points:

It is usually uncountable, like English information.
- Saya mencari maklumat. – I am searching for information.
For pieces of information, you can say butir maklumat or maklumat-maklumat, but that’s more formal.

Other options:

informasi – also information, from English/Latin; common and acceptable.
info – informal; like English info.

All three can work in many contexts, but:

In formal writing: maklumat and informasi are preferred.
In casual speech: maklumat and info are both common.

In your sentence, maklumat is a natural, slightly formal/neutral choice.

What does tentang mean here? Could I use mengenai, berkenaan, or pasal instead?

tentang means about / regarding:

maklumat tentang watak sejarah – information about a historical figure

You can often replace tentang with:

mengenai – about/regarding (fairly formal, very common)
berkenaan (dengan) – concerning/related to (formal)
pasal – about (colloquial/informal)

Rough guide:

tentang – neutral, common in both spoken and written Malay.
mengenai – slightly more formal; very common in writing.
berkenaan (dengan) – formal, often used in official documents.
pasal – casual speech; avoid in formal writing.

So you could say:

mencari maklumat mengenai watak sejarah...
mencari maklumat berkenaan watak sejarah...
cari info pasal tokoh sejarah... (clearly informal)

What exactly does watak sejarah mean? Is it a real person or a fictional character?

watak means character (as in a character in a story), and sejarah means history.

So watak sejarah literally means historical character and usually refers to:

a person who appears as a character in historical stories, dramas, or narratives
(could be real or semi-fictional, depending on context)

However, if you want to be clear that it’s a real historical figure, Malay often uses:

tokoh sejarah – historical figure / important historical person

So:

watak sejarah – can have a storytelling nuance (a character in history-related stories)
tokoh sejarah – more clearly a real historical figure / notable person in history

In your context, watak sejarah will usually be understood as a historical figure, but tokoh sejarah is slightly more precise.

How should I understand laman sesawang kerajaan? Which word describes which?

The phrase is built like this:

laman – page / site (in this context, a website)
sesawang – web (literally related to spiderweb)
laman sesawang – website
kerajaan – government

In a noun phrase like laman sesawang kerajaan:

The last noun (kerajaan) describes the type/owner of the thing before it.
So laman sesawang kerajaan = government website.

It’s similar to English government website, where government modifies website.

What does laman sesawang mean, and is it commonly used? Are there other ways to say website?

laman sesawang literally means web page/site, and it’s the standard Malay term for website.

Usage notes:

It is understood and used, especially in formal or official Malaysian contexts (government, education).
Many speakers also say:
- laman web
- tapak web
- website (borrowed)
In Indonesian, you’ll often see situs web instead.

In Malaysia:

Official style: laman sesawang, laman web
Everyday speech: website, web, laman web are very common.

Your sentence sounds like standard Malaysian Malay, partly because of laman sesawang.

Why is di used before laman sesawang kerajaan? Could I use pada or dalam instead?

di is the most common preposition for in / on / at a place, including virtual places like websites:

di laman sesawang kerajaan – on a government website

Other options:

pada – more formal/literary when used for places; also used with time (pada hari Isnin – on Monday) and abstract things.
dalam – in / inside (more strongly inside something).

You could sometimes see:

pada laman sesawang kerajaan – sounds more formal or slightly bookish.
dalam laman sesawang kerajaan – inside the website (emphasis on inside the contents of the site).

In normal speech and writing, di laman sesawang kerajaan is the most natural.

Can I change the word order, for example mencari maklumat watak sejarah tentang...? Where does tentang go?

The natural word order is:

mencari maklumat tentang watak sejarah
- mencari – looking for
- maklumat – information
- tentang watak sejarah – about a historical figure

tentang normally comes directly before the thing it describes:

maklumat tentang watak sejarah – information about a historical figure
buku tentang sejarah – a book about history

So these are natural:

mencari maklumat tentang watak sejarah
mencari maklumat mengenai watak sejarah

But this is not natural:

mencari maklumat watak sejarah tentang... ✗

Keep tentang (or mengenai, etc.) immediately before the noun or phrase it introduces.

How would I make watak sejarah plural, like historical figures?

Malay often leaves plural unmarked and lets context show it:

watak sejarah – historical figure / historical figures (depending on context)

If you want to be explicit:

Reduplication:
- watak-watak sejarah – historical figures (several characters/figures)
Use a number or quantifier:
- beberapa watak sejarah – several historical figures
- banyak watak sejarah – many historical figures

Similarly, tokoh sejarah can become:

tokoh-tokoh sejarah – historical figures

How formal or informal is the whole sentence? How might a more casual version sound?

Your sentence mixes slightly formal vocabulary with somewhat casual verb forms, but it’s overall neutral and perfectly acceptable.

Original:

Saya buka pelayar web dan mencari maklumat tentang watak sejarah di laman sesawang kerajaan.

A more casual, everyday version could be:

Saya buka browser dan cari info pasal tokoh sejarah dekat website kerajaan.

Changes:

pelayar web → browser (English loan, casual)
maklumat → info (informal)
tentang → pasal (colloquial)
watak sejarah → tokoh sejarah (clearer for a real person)
di → dekat (spoken Malay for at/on/in)
laman sesawang kerajaan → website kerajaan (mix of Malay and English, very common in speech)
buka / cari without prefixes – normal in casual speech

For formal writing, you might go the other way and make everything consistently formal:

Saya membuka pelayar web dan mencari maklumat mengenai tokoh sejarah di laman sesawang rasmi kerajaan.