Suspek itu berada di sini.

Malay basic word order is usually Subject + Predicate, much like English.

• Suspek itu = the subject
• berada di sini = the predicate

So the sentence naturally goes:

• Suspek itu = that/the suspect
• berada di sini = is located here

This is a very normal Malay sentence pattern.

Itu usually means that, but in sentences like this it often works like the in English.

So suspek itu can mean:

• that suspect
• or, depending on context, the suspect

Malay does not have a direct equivalent of English the and a/an, so words like itu and ini are often used to make a noun more specific.

In Malay, demonstratives such as ini and itu normally come after the noun.

So:

• suspek itu = that suspect
• rumah itu = that house
• orang itu = that person

This is different from English, where this and that come before the noun.

Berada means something like to be located, to be situated, or to be present.

In many situations, ada can also be used to express presence or existence, so you may also hear:

• Suspek itu ada di sini.

That is also natural and often more conversational.

The difference is roughly this:

• berada sounds a bit more formal, precise, or descriptive
• ada is often simpler and more common in everyday speech

So Suspek itu berada di sini sounds slightly more formal than Suspek itu ada di sini.

Di sini means here.

In Malay, di is a preposition meaning at / in / on when it refers to a place, so it is written separately from the following word:

• di sini = here
• di rumah = at home
• di sekolah = at school

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

• ditulis = written
• dibuka = opened

So:

• di sini = correct
• disini = incorrect in standard spelling

Malay verbs usually do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

So berada itself does not tell you whether the action is present, past, or future. The time is usually understood from:

• context
• time words
• other markers

For example:

• Suspek itu berada di sini sekarang. = The suspect is here now.
• Suspek itu berada di sini semalam. = The suspect was here yesterday.
• Suspek itu akan berada di sini esok. = The suspect will be here tomorrow.

Without any time marker, the sentence is often understood as present if the context allows.

Yes, grammatically you can replace suspek with another noun.

For example:

• Orang itu berada di sini. = That person is here.
• Lelaki itu berada di sini. = That man is here.
• Wanita itu berada di sini. = That woman is here.

But suspek specifically means suspect, so it has a legal or investigative meaning. It is actually a common loanword in Malay.

No, suspek is a loanword, ultimately from English suspect.

Malay contains many loanwords from languages such as:

• English
• Arabic
• Sanskrit
• Portuguese
• Dutch

Even though suspek comes from English, it is fully usable as a normal Malay noun.

English uses to be in many ways, but Malay does not have one single verb that works exactly the same in all cases.

For location or presence, Malay may use:

• ada
• berada

But for identity, Malay often does not use a verb equivalent to is.

For example:

• Dia guru. = He/She is a teacher.
• Itu rumah saya. = That is my house.
• Suspek itu berada di sini. = The suspect is here.

So English is may be translated in different ways, or sometimes not translated at all.

In everyday speech, many speakers would naturally say:

• Suspek itu ada di sini.

This is shorter and very common.

Berada is still correct and natural, but it can sound more formal, written, official, or report-like. So if this sentence comes from news, police language, or formal reporting, berada fits very well.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• sus-pek ee-too ber-ah-dah dee see-nee

A few notes:

• suspek: both vowels are short and clear
• itu: roughly ee-too
• berada: the r may be lightly tapped
• di sini: dee see-nee

Malay spelling is generally quite phonetic, so words are usually pronounced close to how they are written.