Bukan sahaja kolej itu dekat dengan makmal, malah perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam.

It creates a not only ... but also ... structure.

So:

• Bukan sahaja kolej itu dekat dengan makmal = Not only is the college close to the laboratory
• malah perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam = but its library is also open until night

A few notes:

• bukan sahaja = not only
• malah = in fact / moreover / but also
• juga = also

Malay often uses more than one linking word here, so malah ... juga together can sound very natural.

In Malay, itu often comes after the noun when it means that/the in a specific sense.

So:

• kolej itu = that college / the college
• makmal itu = that laboratory
• buku itu = that book

This is the normal word order in Malay for demonstratives used after nouns.

dekat means near/close, and dengan means with/to in this kind of construction.

So:

• dekat dengan makmal = close to the laboratory

In English, we just say close to, but in Malay the natural phrase is often dekat dengan.

You may also hear:

• dekat makmal

This can also mean near the laboratory, especially in casual speech. But dekat dengan makmal can sound a little clearer or fuller.

Perpustakaannya = perpustakaan + -nya

• perpustakaan = library
• -nya here means its or the ... of it

So perpustakaannya means its library — referring back to the college.

In this sentence:

• kolej itu = the college
• perpustakaannya = its library

This -nya is very common in Malay for possession when the possessor is already understood from context.

Yes, you could.

• perpustakaannya = its library
• perpustakaan kolej itu = the library of that college / that college’s library

Both are grammatical. The version with -nya sounds more compact and avoids repeating kolej itu.

So the sentence could be rephrased as:

• Bukan sahaja kolej itu dekat dengan makmal, malah perpustakaan kolej itu juga dibuka sampai malam.

That is correct, but a bit more repetitive.

Dibuka is a passive form.

• buka = open
• membuka = to open something
• dibuka = is opened / is open

In this sentence, the focus is on the library being open, not on who opens it.

So:

• perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam = its library is also open until night

Malay often uses di- passive forms in cases where English simply uses an adjective-like phrase such as is open.

Yes, quite closely. Literally, it is something like:

• is opened until night

But in natural English, we would usually say:

• is open until night
• stays open until the evening/night

So even though the Malay uses dibuka, the best English translation is often just is open.

Sampai malam literally means until night or up to nighttime.

In context, it usually means:

• until the evening
• until late
• until nighttime

Malay time expressions are often a little less sharply defined than English ones. If you want to be more formal or precise, you might also see:

• hingga malam
• sampai lewat malam = until late at night

So sampai malam is natural and understandable, though the exact English wording may vary depending on context.

Juga means also, and in Malay it often comes after the thing being emphasized.

So:

• perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam = its library also is open until night

In smoother English:

• its library is also open until night

Malay word order for juga is flexible in some cases, but placing it after the noun phrase is very common and natural here.

Not exactly.

• tetapi = but
• malah = in fact / moreover / what is more / but also

In this sentence, malah adds an idea that strengthens or builds on the first point. It is not just simple contrast.

Compare:

• Bukan sahaja ..., malah ... = Not only ..., but also ...

So malah is a good choice because the speaker is adding a second positive feature of the college.

Yes, a similar structure is possible, but it changes the feel a bit.

For example:

• Bukan sahaja kolej itu dekat dengan makmal, tetapi perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam.

This is understandable and grammatical.

However, malah often sounds smoother and more idiomatic in this kind of not only ... but also ... sentence. It gives a stronger sense of what’s more rather than plain but.

No. You may also see:

• bukan sahaja
• bukan hanya
• bukan sekadar
• bukan setakat

All can mean something like not only, though they differ slightly in tone and usage.

For example:

• Bukan sahaja kolej itu dekat dengan makmal, malah perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam.
• Bukan hanya kolej itu dekat dengan makmal, malah perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam.

Both work. Bukan sahaja is very common and natural in formal and neutral Malay.

Malay often allows a compact structure where the first clause states one fact and the second adds another, without needing extra filler words.

Here the structure is:

• kolej itu dekat dengan makmal
• perpustakaannya juga dibuka sampai malam

Each clause is complete on its own. Malay does not need a verb like is in the first part:

• kolej itu dekat dengan makmal literally: the college close to the laboratory natural meaning: the college is close to the laboratory

This is normal in Malay. Adjectives like dekat can function as the predicate without an equivalent of is.

It is mostly neutral to fairly formal.

Reasons:

• bukan sahaja ... malah ... juga sounds polished and well-structured.
• perpustakaannya is compact and natural in written Malay.
• dibuka is a standard passive form often seen in formal or informational language.

In casual speech, someone might say something simpler, such as:

• Kolej itu bukan saja dekat dengan makmal, perpustakaannya pun buka sampai malam.

That sounds more conversational. The original sentence is a bit more careful and polished.

Often yes, especially in more casual Malay.

For example:

• Bukan sahaja kolej itu dekat dengan makmal, malah perpustakaannya pun dibuka sampai malam.

This is understandable and natural in speech.

Very roughly:

• juga = more neutral/standard also
• pun = also/too, often more conversational or stylistically lighter

In formal writing, juga is usually the safer choice.

It is natural and well-formed. It sounds like a sentence you might see in:

• a brochure
• a school description
• an essay
• formal speech

It presents two advantages of the college in a neat way:

1. it is close to the laboratory
2. its library stays open until night

So for a learner, this is a very good example of how Malay links two positive facts using bukan sahaja ... malah ... juga.