To locate a requirement, decide what kind of detail the question wants, then search the notice for the signal word that introduces it. The skill appears whenever you read a short Malay text such as a school notice, a poster or a message and must answer one precise question.
It belongs to reading and listening for meaning, and it is the first step before the harder negatives and pronouns in later lessons.
What is the search method?
A notice holds many details: dates, times, names, money and instructions. A question usually asks about only one of them. Work in this order:
- Read the question and name the detail type. “Apakah yang mesti dibawa?” asks for items. “Bilakah yuran perlu dibayar?” asks for a time limit.
- Find the signal word. Look for mesti, perlu, wajib, dikehendaki, sebelum, selewat-lewatnya.
- Read the words right after it. The requirement normally follows the signal word.
- Answer with only those words.
Worked example
Invented notice for practice, not from any real school:
Pengumuman Kelab Sains (contoh rekaan) Kelab Sains akan mengadakan lawatan ke Pusat Sains pada hari Sabtu, 14 Mac. Pelajar mesti membawa surat kebenaran ibu bapa yang telah ditandatangani dan bekal makanan sendiri. Bas bertolak pada pukul 7.30 pagi dari pintu pagar utama. Yuran RM15 perlu dibayar kepada Cikgu Rina sebelum hari Rabu.
Question A: Apakah yang mesti dibawa oleh pelajar?
Step 1: the question asks for items, so look for mesti.
Step 2: the sentence says Pelajar mesti membawa…
Step 3: the words after it give two items.
Answer: surat kebenaran ibu bapa yang telah ditandatangani dan bekal makanan sendiri.
Question B: Bilakah yuran perlu dibayar?
The signal word is perlu and the time limit follows sebelum. Answer: sebelum hari Rabu.
What mistake do students make?
The common slip is grabbing the first number or time that appears. For Question B, a student sees pukul 7.30 pagi near the middle of the notice and writes that.
Mistaken answer: pukul 7.30 pagi
That is the bus time. The question asked about payment, and payment is attached to perlu dibayar and sebelum hari Rabu.
The correction is to match the question’s detail type to the signal word, not to the first matching number. Time of departure and deadline for payment are different details in the same notice.
Check yourself
Invented notice: Perpustakaan sekolah akan ditutup pada 20 Mac kerana kerja baik pulih. Pelajar dikehendaki memulangkan semua buku selewat-lewatnya pada hari Khamis. Buku yang lewat dipulangkan akan didenda 20 sen sehari.
1. Apakah yang pelajar dikehendaki buat?
Show answer
The signal word is dikehendaki. Answer: memulangkan semua buku.
2. Bilakah buku mesti dipulangkan?
Show answer
The signal word is selewat-lewatnya. Answer: pada hari Khamis (at the latest).
3. Mengapakah perpustakaan ditutup?
Show answer
The signal word is kerana, which introduces a reason. Answer: kerana kerja baik pulih.
Where this leads next
Next, learn to distinguish a negative statement from its keyword, because notices often say what is not allowed as well as what is required. When you want mixed questions, try the reading and listening practice set and log slips in the mistake log.
If you read Malay well but lose marks on which detail to pick, our teachers can work through your underlining in online one-to-one Malay tuition.