Learn Hardcore Malay: Angin laut paling kuat pada waktu petang, jadi kami memakai topi ringan. - The sea wind is strongest in the evening, so we wear light hats.

Both are correct. paling kuat is very common in everyday speech, while terkuat can sound slightly more formal or concise. There’s no change in meaning.

Could I say sangat kuat instead of paling kuat?

Not if you want the superlative. sangat kuat means “very strong,” but it stops short of “strongest.”

sangat = “very” (intensifier)
paling / ter- = “most” (superlative)

So angin laut sangat kuat = “the sea breeze is very strong,” not “the strongest.”

Why is it pada waktu petang? Can I just say pada petang or simply petang?

pada waktu petang = “in the evening hours,” slightly more formal or emphatic.
pada petang = “in the evening,” perfectly correct and more colloquial.
petang by itself (with no preposition) can work in casual speech but you lose the sense of “at that time.”

All three are understood; Malay speakers often drop waktu and just say pada petang.

Why use pada here? Could I use di instead?

For points in time, Malay normally uses pada:

pada pagi, pada malam, pada petang

di marks location (place) rather than time:

di rumah, di sekolah

So you say pada waktu petang, not di waktu petang.

Why is kami used instead of kita?

Both mean “we,” but:

kami excludes the person you’re speaking to (“we, but not you”).
kita includes the listener (“we, including you”).

In this sentence you’re talking about your own group (you’re not including the listener), so kami is the proper choice.

What is the root of memakai, and why does pakai change to memakai?

The root verb is pakai (“to wear/use”).
Malay uses the mem- prefix to form certain active verbs.
Because pakai starts with p, the mem- prefix assimilates the p into m, giving memakai.

This is just how Malay handles prefix + root when the root begins with p.

Why is ringan placed after topi? Do adjectives always come after nouns?

Yes. In Malay, adjectives typically follow the noun they modify:

buku tebal (“thick book”)
kereta baru (“new car”)
topi ringan (“light hat”)

There are rare poetic or borrowed constructions where the adjective can precede, but the standard order is noun + adjective.

What does jadi do in this sentence, and why is there a comma before it?

jadi here is a coordinating conjunction meaning “so” or “therefore.” You join two independent clauses:

Angin laut paling kuat pada waktu petang (Main clause)
kami memakai topi ringan (Result clause)

You often set off jadi with a comma in writing to show the cause-and-effect relationship. You could also say oleh itu or maka, but jadi is the most common in speech and informal writing.

What exactly is angin laut? Does it just mean “sea wind”?

Literally it’s “sea wind,” but in meteorological and everyday use angin laut refers to the sea breeze—the cool wind that blows from the sea toward the land, especially in the afternoon. It’s a fixed collocation rather than angin dari laut, which would sound wordy.