Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya fikir kursus ini penting untuk kerjaya masa depan saya. - I think this course is important for my future career.

In colloquial Malay fikir on its own functions like “think” in English:
• Saya fikir = I think (I’m of the opinion)
Adding ber- (to form berfikir) makes it more formal or literary, and often implies a more deliberate, ongoing mental process:
• Saya berfikir tentang masalah itu = I’m thinking (reflecting) about that problem
In everyday speech, learners usually prefer Saya fikir… for “I think…”

Where is the English copula “is”? Why is there no adalah or is in kursus ini penting?

Malay often drops a linking verb in simple predicate adjective sentences. An adjective can follow the subject directly:
• Kursus ini penting = This course is important
You can add adalah or ialah for emphasis or formality:
• Kursus ini adalah penting untuk kerjaya saya.
But it’s perfectly natural (and more common in speech) without it.

Why is ini placed after kursus? Can I say ini kursus?

Malay demonstratives (ini = “this,” itu = “that”) normally follow the noun they modify:
• kursus ini = this course
• rumah itu = that house
Putting ini before the noun (ini kursus) would be ungrammatical in standard Malay.

Why is untuk used here? Could I use bagi or supaya instead of untuk?

untuk is the most common way to express “for” when indicating purpose or benefit:
• penting untuk kerjaya saya = important for my career
bagi can also mean “for,” but it often stresses the recipient or beneficiary:
• bagi kerjaya saya leans more toward “as far as my career is concerned”
supaya means “so that” and takes a verb clause, not a noun:
• Saya fikir kursus ini penting supaya saya boleh maju = I think this course is important so that I can advance

How do you form the possessive in kerjaya masa depan saya? Why not saya kerjaya masa depan?

Malay marks possession by placing the possessor after the possessed noun:
• kerjaya saya = my career
When you have a compound modifier like masa depan (future) before that, the order is:

head noun (kerjaya)
modifier (masa depan)
possessor (saya)
So kerjaya masa depan saya = my future career.
saya kerjaya masa depan would confuse the roles of subject and object.

What is the difference between kerjaya and pekerjaan?

Both relate to work, but:
• kerjaya = career (the long‐term professional path you build)
• pekerjaan = job or occupation (a position you hold at a company)
So a pekerjaan can be one step in your kerjaya.

Can I omit ini and say Saya fikir kursus penting untuk kerjaya masa depan saya?

Yes, you can drop ini if context makes clear which course you mean. The sentence becomes more general:
• Saya fikir kursus penting… = I think (the) course is important…
Including ini specifically refers to a previously mentioned or obvious course.

Could I add adalah for formality? Where would it go in the sentence?

Yes. adalah or ialah can be inserted before the adjective or before the noun phrase, for example:
• Saya fikir kursus ini adalah penting untuk kerjaya masa depan saya.
• Saya fikir, adalah penting kursus ini untuk kerjaya masa depan saya.
The first option is most natural: adalah comes between the subject phrase and the adjective.