Suis utama itu di bawah meter elektrik.

In Malay, descriptive words usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• suis = switch
• utama = main / principal

That makes suis utama = main switch.

This is a very common pattern in Malay:

• rumah besar = big house
• kereta baru = new car

So English often does adjective + noun, but Malay often does noun + adjective.

Itu is a demonstrative word. It usually means that, but in context it can also help make something definite, a bit like the one we are talking about.

So suis utama itu can mean:

• that main switch
• or, depending on context, the main switch

Malay often places demonstratives like ini and itu after the noun phrase:

• suis ini = this switch
• suis itu = that switch
• suis utama itu = that main switch

Because standard Malay normally puts demonstratives after the noun phrase, not before it.

So the natural order is:

• suis utama itu

not:

• itu suis utama for the meaning that main switch

However, Itu suis utama can exist, but it means something more like That is the main switch. So it is a different sentence structure.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in simple present-tense sentences, especially in identification and location sentences.

So English says:

• The main switch is under the electric meter

But Malay can simply say:

• Suis utama itu di bawah meter elektrik

The meaning of is is understood from the structure.

If you want to make the idea of location more explicit, you can say:

• Suis utama itu berada di bawah meter elektrik

Here berada means is located or is situated.

Di bawah means under or below.

It is a location phrase:

• di = at / in / on, used for location
• bawah = lower part / underneath

So di bawah meter elektrik means under the electric meter or below the electric meter.

Other similar phrases are:

• di atas = on / above
• di dalam = in / inside
• di luar = outside

Because here di is a preposition marking location, and in standard Malay, that di is written separately.

So:

• di bawah = below
• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school

This is different from the prefix di- used in passive verbs, which is written together:

• dibuka = opened
• ditutup = closed

So a useful rule is:

• di for location -> separate
• di- for passive verb forms -> attached

Malay usually puts the main noun first and the word modifying it after.

So:

• meter = meter
• elektrik = electric / electricity

That gives meter elektrik = electric meter.

This head-first pattern is very common in Malay. English sometimes puts the describing word before the noun, but Malay often puts it after.

Malay does not have articles that work exactly like English a and the.

Very often, whether something is a switch, the switch, or that switch is understood from context.

In this sentence, itu helps make suis utama itu more specific and definite. So it can feel like:

• that main switch
• or the main switch already known in the conversation

So Malay handles definiteness differently from English.

Yes. That is correct.

The difference is mainly style:

• Suis utama itu di bawah meter elektrik = shorter, very natural
• Suis utama itu berada di bawah meter elektrik = more explicit, slightly more formal, emphasizes location

Both are good Malay.

They are real, normal Malay words in modern usage, even though they come from English.

Malay uses many loanwords, especially for technical or everyday modern objects. In this case:

• suis comes from English switch
• meter comes from English meter

So a learner should treat them as ordinary Malay vocabulary.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In many situations, di bawah simply means below or under in a general spatial sense. It does not always mean directly underneath.

If you want to be more precise, Malay can add extra words, for example:

• tepat di bawah = directly below
• betul-betul di bawah = right underneath

So in your sentence, di bawah meter elektrik usually means the main switch is somewhere under the electric meter, and context tells you how exact that is.