Mereka memulakan perniagaan kecil.

Mereka is the standard Malay word for they. In this sentence, it is the subject, so it means they rather than them.

A useful note: mereka is very normal in standard written Malay and formal speech. In casual everyday conversation, especially in Malaysia, speakers often use more colloquial alternatives instead.

Because memulakan means to start something, while mula by itself is just the basic idea of begin/start.

• mula = begin, start
• memulakan = start something, initiate something

Here, the thing being started is perniagaan kecil, so the transitive form memulakan fits well.

Compare:

• Mereka mula. = They began.
• Mereka memulakan perniagaan kecil. = They started a small business.

In many Malay verbs, the pattern meN- ... -kan creates a verb that acts on an object.

So:

• root: mula
• derived verb: memulakan

This gives the sense of starting/causing something to begin.

The prefix changes shape depending on the first sound of the root. That is why it is meN- in general, but here it appears as mem- in memulakan.

Perniagaan is a noun meaning business or enterprise.

It is related to the root niaga, which has to do with trade or business:

• berniaga = to do business, to trade, to sell
• perniagaan = business, enterprise

So in this sentence:

• memulakan perniagaan = to start a business

Because in Malay, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• perniagaan kecil = small business
• literally: business small

This is the normal Malay word order.

Malay does not use articles like a, an, or the the way English does.

So perniagaan kecil can mean:

• a small business
• the small business

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is why Mereka memulakan perniagaan kecil is perfectly normal even without a separate word for a.

Yes, absolutely.

Adding sebuah makes the noun phrase a bit more explicit:

• Mereka memulakan perniagaan kecil.
• Mereka memulakan sebuah perniagaan kecil.

Both are correct.
Sebuah is a classifier often used with singular concrete or countable things, and it can also be used with something like perniagaan. With sebuah, the sense of a single small business is a little clearer.

Not by grammar alone. Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So memulakan does not itself mean only started. Depending on context, the sentence could be understood as:

• They started a small business
• They are starting a small business
• They start a small business

To make time clearer, Malay often adds words like:

• telah = already, past/completed
• sedang = in progress
• akan = future/will

For example:

• Mereka telah memulakan perniagaan kecil.
• Mereka sedang memulakan perniagaan kecil.

Yes, but mainly in standard Malay, especially in writing, news, formal speech, and textbooks.

In casual spoken Malaysian Malay, many speakers use other forms instead, such as colloquial pronouns. So a textbook sentence with mereka is very normal and correct, but real-life conversation may sound less formal.

Sometimes, yes. Malay often leaves out the subject if it is already clear from context.

So after earlier context, someone might say just:

• Memulakan perniagaan kecil.

But as a complete stand-alone sentence, especially in standard writing, Mereka memulakan perniagaan kecil is clearer and more natural.

Here it means small-scale, not physically tiny.

So perniagaan kecil means a small business, usually in the sense of a modest or limited business operation. This is the natural meaning in context.

Very roughly, it would be:

• Mereka = they
• memulakan = started / start something
• perniagaan = business
• kecil = small

So the Malay word order is basically:

They started business small

But natural English rearranges it as:

They started a small business.