Learn Hardcore Malay: Tiketnya mendapat diskaun besar minggu lalu. - His/Her ticket received a big discount last week.

Tiketnya is made up of Tiket plus the enclitic -nya. In Malay -nya can mark possession (“his/her”) or serve as a definite article (“the”). In isolation you might translate it as “his/her ticket,” but in many contexts—especially if no owner was specified—it simply means “the ticket.”

Why is the verb mendapat used instead of just dapat or another word?

mendapat is the active verb form (me- prefix) of dapat, literally “to receive” or “to get.” Without the me- prefix, dapat often functions more like an adjective or a stative verb (“is discounted”). Using mendapat diskaun emphasizes the action—“received a discount.”

Why does diskaun come before besar? Could you say besar diskaun or use a relative clause?

In Malay the normal order is noun + adjective, so diskaun besar = “big discount.” Saying besar diskaun would be ungrammatical. You could say diskaun yang besar (“a discount that is big”), but it’s more wordy and usually unnecessary.

Do I need a preposition before minggu lalu to mean “last week”?

No. Time expressions like minggu lalu can stand alone without a preposition. If you want, you can insert pada (pada minggu lalu), but it’s optional.

Can minggu lalu be placed at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Malay is flexible with time-phrase position. You could say:
Minggu lalu tiketnya mendapat diskaun besar.

Would it be more natural to add telah or sudah to show past tense?

You can add either to stress completion:

Tiketnya telah mendapat diskaun besar minggu lalu.
Tiketnya sudah mendapat diskaun besar minggu lalu.
However, including minggu lalu already makes it clear that it happened in the past, so telah/sudah is optional.

Are there other ways to say “discount” in Malay?

Yes. Besides diskaun (a loanword), you can use potongan harga, for example:
Tiketnya mendapat potongan harga besar minggu lalu. Both are correct; diskaun is shorter and more colloquial.