The predicate without any marker refers to a situation which occurs at whatever time is in focus. It may be present or past. The temporal location of that situation is clear from the context. As in Malay, a Bazaar Malay VP or an AP without being marked by any temporal expressions or TAM markers indicates a situation as a single whole and its temporal location can be inferred from the context. Thus, the utterance Saya ada satu oranggaji may mean either ‘I have a maid’ or ‘I had a maid.’ But from the context, it can be inferred that she was talking about the domestic helper she had at the time of speech.
Source: Aye 2005: 115
Source: Aye 2005: 116
Source: Aye 2005: 369