Translate this: Policy

Browsing through the ever so reliable Gerbang Maya DewanBahasa Dan Pustaka, it can be deduced that the word ‘policy’ has two definitive translations. They are:

English: Policy

Bahasa Melayu: 1. Polisi, 2. Dasar.

You may wonder though, which one should one use? Are they interchangeable? Unfortunately, they are not interchangeable, as I found out later, from a very established translator friend, Shakira Zain. She informed me these two words can only be used in these circumstances, respectively:

Polisi – is to be used ONLY in articles related to insurance. Polisi will always be a noun (kata nama). Don’t go clever (memandai-mandai) and create a new word like ‘mempolisikan’.

Dasar – for all other usage. In this case it is always a noun too.


But, for other meanings, it can be a noun or a verb, and with affixes, the derivation (kata terbitan) can be a noun, verb, adjective and so on. For example: berdasarkan (based on), dasar lautan (ocean bed).

The confusion that could arise from this is that you may have stumbled upon, somewhere that says, for example, Polisi Syarikat XYZ Berhad. What follows then, is a list of the company’s policy. This is an example of a wrong usage of the word polisi. It should be ‘Dasar Syarikat XYZ Berhad’ because it is not about ‘an insurance policy’ or anything related, but a policy that may mean, among others, a guideline to performing at a workplace.

Easy way out, eh? Senang-senang je terjemah ikut bunyi...

Of which... had I been given the power to police this wrong usage of the word polisi, I will knock on every door of every company here in Malaysia, and give them my own 'personal policy' on it. And it may contain some very colorful terms, and the colors are not going to be beautiful.

Erm.. by the way, can you do that for me, please? Maybe until I received my Kad Kuasa Polis Bahasa. Can ar? 

Can...? 

Thanks….