Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya suka kelab belajar di kampus. - I like the study club at the campus.

Saya gemar … – also “I like …”, but slightly more formal or bookish, often for hobbies/interests.
Saya minat … – “I’m interested in … / I’m into …”, a bit stronger than just liking something.

In everyday speech, Saya suka … is the safest, most common option.

Can I drop Saya and just say Suka kelab belajar di kampus?

You can drop Saya in casual conversation if it’s already clear from context that you’re talking about yourself. Malay often omits pronouns when the subject is understood.

However:

Saya suka kelab belajar di kampus. – clear, complete, good for learners.
Suka kelab belajar di kampus. – grammatical but more casual and context-dependent; listeners must infer that “I” is the subject.

For learning and for writing, keep Saya.

What exactly does kelab belajar mean, and is it natural?

Kelab belajar literally means “study club”:

kelab = club
belajar = to study

So kelab belajar is a club whose activity/purpose is studying (for example, a study group or academic club).

Don’t confuse it with:

kelab pelajar – student club (a club for students, not necessarily about studying).
bilik belajar – study room.

If your intended meaning is “the study club” (a club where people gather to study), kelab belajar is natural Malay.

Is kelab belajar singular or plural? Do I need a word like “a” or “the”?

Malay nouns usually do not mark singular/plural, and there is no separate word for “a/an” or “the” by default.

Kelab belajar could mean:

a study club
the study club
study clubs (in a generic sense)

Context decides.

If you want to be more explicit, you can add a classifier or number:

sebuah kelab belajar – a study club / one study club
beberapa kelab belajar – several study clubs

In your sentence, Saya suka kelab belajar di kampus, it’s natural to understand it as “I like the study club on campus.”

Why is the preposition di used in di kampus? Could I use something else?

Di is the basic preposition meaning “at / in / on (a place)”.

di kampus = at (the) campus / on campus

You cannot replace it with:

ke kampus – this means to campus (direction, movement).
pada kampus – ungrammatical in this context; pada is more for time and abstract relations, not simple location.

So for a static location (where something is), di is the correct choice:

Saya belajar di kampus. – I study at campus.

Could the sentence mean “I like studying at the club on campus” instead of “I like the study club on campus”?

Grammatically, Saya suka kelab belajar di kampus is read most naturally as:

I like the study club on campus.

That is, belajar describes kelab (what type of club) rather than your action.

If you want to say “I like studying at the club on campus”, Malay would normally rephrase it to make belajar clearly your action, for example:

Saya suka belajar di kelab di kampus. – I like to study at the club on campus.
Saya suka belajar di kelab yang ada di kampus. – I like to study at the club that is on campus.

So, as written, your sentence points to liking the club, not the activity of studying.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Saya suka di kampus kelab belajar or something similar?

The natural word order in Malay here is:

[Saya] [suka] [kelab belajar] [di kampus].

Changing the order like Saya suka di kampus kelab belajar sounds ungrammatical or at least very unnatural.

Basic pattern:

Subject: Saya
Verb: suka
Object: kelab belajar
Place phrase: di kampus

This S–V–O–(place/time) order is the standard in Malay sentences. The place phrase di kampus usually comes after the object in a simple sentence like this.

How do I change the tense? How do I say “I liked” or “I used to like the study club on campus”?

Malay verbs (like suka) do not change form for tense. You add time words or aspect markers if needed.

Saya suka kelab belajar di kampus. – I like / I liked / I have liked (depending on context).

To be explicit about past:

Dulu saya suka kelab belajar di kampus. – I used to like the study club on campus.
Saya pernah suka kelab belajar di kampus. – I once/at some time liked the study club on campus.

To be explicit about future:

Saya akan suka kelab belajar di kampus. – I will like the study club on campus (rare, sounds a bit odd in most contexts).
In practice you’d more naturally say:
Saya rasa saya akan suka kelab belajar di kampus. – I think I will like the study club on campus.

How formal is Saya here? Could I use aku instead?

Saya is polite and neutral; appropriate in almost any situation (speaking to strangers, teachers, colleagues, etc.).

Aku is:

more informal and intimate; used with close friends, family, or people the same age in casual settings
not usually used to someone older or in formal situations unless you’re very close.

So you could say:

Aku suka kelab belajar di kampus. – Informal, to a friend.

For safe, general usage (especially as a learner), stick with Saya.

Could I say di universiti instead of di kampus? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say di universiti, but there’s a nuance:

kampus = the physical campus area (buildings, grounds, etc.).
universiti = the institution (university as an organization) and also used for the place.

Di kampus focuses on the physical campus environment:

kelab belajar di kampus – a study club located on campus.

Di universiti can feel more general, “at the university”, but in many contexts, people would still understand it as being on the university grounds. Both are acceptable; di kampus sounds more specific about physical location.

Do we ever need di dalam kampus instead of just di kampus?

Di dalam kampus literally means “inside the campus” and is more explicit about being within the campus boundaries.

di kampus – on/at campus (already usually understood as “in the campus area”).
di dalam kampus – inside the campus (used when contrasting inside vs outside).

In your sentence, di kampus is natural and sufficient. You’d normally only add dalam if you really need to emphasize that it is inside, not outside.

How are the words in Saya suka kelab belajar di kampus pronounced and stressed?

Malay stress is generally on the second-last (penultimate) syllable for words with more than one syllable. Rough guide (stressed syllables in caps):

SA-ya – SA-ya (stress slightly on SA)
SU-ka – SU-ka
ke-LAB – ke-LAB (loanword; many speakers keep the second syllable a bit stronger)
be-LA-jar – be-LA-jar
di – di (one syllable)
KAM-pus – KAM-pus

Vowels are short and clear:

a as in father (but shorter)
e (in belajar) is a schwa sound (like the a in about).

Overall rhythm is fairly even; stress is much weaker than in English.