Learn Hardcore Malay: Dalam seminar itu, tiga orang penyelidik duduk sebagai panel di depan bilik. - In that seminar, three researchers sat as a panel at the front of the room.

Dalam seminar itu = During that seminar / In that seminar (as an event or session)
Di seminar itu would focus more on the location: At that seminar (physically there)

Both dalam seminar itu and di seminar itu are grammatically possible, but:

Dalam seminar itu sounds a bit more like “in the course of that seminar”, highlighting the occasion.
Di seminar itu sounds more like “at that seminar”, highlighting the place.

In many real-life contexts, speakers might use either without a big difference, but the sentence you have uses dalam to frame the whole situation as something happening within the setting of the seminar.

Why is it seminar itu and not itu seminar?

In standard Malay, the demonstratives ini (this) and itu (that) usually come after the noun:

seminar itu = that seminar
buku ini = this book

So:

seminar itu is the normal way to say that seminar.
itu seminar is not the usual noun phrase order. It can occur in speech, but then itu often works more like “that one / that thing” rather than the normal “that” before a noun in English.

So, for a simple noun phrase “that seminar”, you should say seminar itu, not itu seminar.

What exactly does tiga orang penyelidik mean? Does orang just mean “person”?

Literally, tiga orang penyelidik is:

tiga = three
orang = person / people (and also a classifier for humans)
penyelidik = researcher

So a very literal breakdown would be “three persons (of) researcher”, but in natural English we simply say “three researchers”.

In Malay, orang here acts as a classifier / measure word for people, and this structure is extremely common:

dua orang doktor = two doctors
lima orang pelajar = five students
beberapa orang wartawan = several journalists

So orang still means “person”, but in this pattern it is functioning primarily as a counter for human beings, not as a separate content word that needs its own translation in English.

Can I leave out orang and just say tiga penyelidik?

Yes, you can say tiga penyelidik, and it is grammatically correct.

The difference in feel:

tiga orang penyelidik
- Very natural, everyday phrasing.
- Explicitly uses the human classifier.
- Common in both spoken and written Malay.
tiga penyelidik
- Also fine, often feels a bit more concise or formal.
- More likely in headlines or academic writing, but still heard in speech.

So your sentence could also be:

Dalam seminar itu, tiga penyelidik duduk sebagai panel di depan bilik.

Both versions are acceptable; tiga orang penyelidik is simply the more typical conversational style.

How do we know penyelidik is plural “researchers” here and not singular “researcher”?

Malay usually does not mark plural with an ending like English -s. Instead, plurality is understood from:

Numbers: tiga (three) in tiga orang penyelidik tells you it is plural.
Context.
Sometimes reduplication or special words.

So:

penyelidik by itself can mean “researcher” or “researchers”, depending on context.
tiga orang penyelidik must be “three researchers” because of tiga.

Other plural ways you might see:

penyelidik-penyelidik = researchers (emphasized plural, often written style)
para penyelidik = the researchers (a formal plural marker para for people)

But when there is an exact number (tiga), Malay normally does not reduplicate the noun.

What does penyelidik come from, and does it literally mean “researcher”?

Yes, penyelidik means “researcher” or “investigator” in the sense of someone who does research.

Morphologically:

The root is selidik = to investigate / to examine / to research.
The prefix peN- is an agent-forming prefix (makes “person who does X”).

When peN- is added to selidik:

peN + selidik → penyelidik
(The N in peN- changes to ny and the initial s of selidik drops.)

So penyelidik literally means “the one who investigates / researches”, i.e. a researcher.

Why is duduk (“sit”) used here? Would menjadi or berada be better?

In Malay, duduk literally means “to sit”, but it is also often used to describe people taking a seat in an official role at an event.

In this sentence:

tiga orang penyelidik duduk sebagai panel
roughly corresponds to English “three researchers sat as the panel / sat on the panel”.

Other possibilities:

tiga orang penyelidik menjadi ahli panel = three researchers became / served as panel members
tiga orang penyelidik bertindak sebagai panel = three researchers acted as the panel

berada means “to be (located)”, so berada sebagai panel is not natural.

So duduk sebagai is a common, idiomatic way to say that someone is seated in and fulfilling a role (panel, judge, committee member, etc.), combining physical sitting and official function.

Is sebagai panel natural Malay, or should it be sebagai ahli panel or panelis?

Malay speakers will understand sebagai panel, but from a careful/standard point of view:

panel usually refers to the whole group (the panel).
ahli panel or panelis refers to an individual member of the panel.

More precise options:

tiga orang penyelidik duduk sebagai ahli panel
tiga orang penyelidik duduk sebagai panelis

In everyday conversation, people do say things like “dia jadi panel”, and it is widely understood. However, if you are aiming for clear, standard, or formal Malay (especially in writing), sebagai ahli panel or sebagai panelis is stylistically better.

Why is there no word like “the” before bilik? Should it be bilik itu?

Malay does not have articles like “a / an / the” in the same systematic way English does. A bare noun can often be understood as specific or general depending on context.

di depan bilik can be understood as in front of the room because the context (a seminar) strongly suggests a specific room.
If you really want to emphasize that particular room, you can say di depan bilik itu = in front of that room.

So:

di depan bilik → usually fine as “in front of the room” in context.
di depan bilik itu → “in front of that room”, with extra emphasis on that specific room, or when you’re contrasting it with another room.

The sentence is natural as given; bilik is understood as the seminar room from the situation.

What is the difference between depan and hadapan in di depan bilik? Are both correct?

Both depan and hadapan mean “front”, and both can appear with di:

di depan bilik
di hadapan bilik

Differences:

depan is very common in everyday, informal speech.
hadapan can feel slightly more formal or careful, and is often preferred in writing, announcements, or official contexts.

Functionally, they are near-synonyms here, and both mean “in front of the room”. Your sentence with di depan bilik is perfectly normal.

Why do we need di in di depan bilik? Could we just say depan bilik?

In standard Malay, di is the basic preposition for location (“at / in / on”), and depan here is treated as a location noun (“front”).

di depan bilik = at the front of the room / in front of the room.

In informal spoken Malay, people often drop di and just say:

depan bilik = in front of the room (colloquial)

But for correct standard Malay, especially in writing or exams, you should keep di:

✅ di depan bilik (standard)
❌ depan bilik (acceptable in casual speech, but not in formal writing)

Could Dalam seminar itu go at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning?

Yes, Malay word order is fairly flexible with time/place phrases, and you can move Dalam seminar itu without changing the basic meaning.

Some possibilities:

Dalam seminar itu, tiga orang penyelidik duduk sebagai panel di depan bilik.
Tiga orang penyelidik duduk sebagai panel di depan bilik dalam seminar itu.
Tiga orang penyelidik dalam seminar itu duduk sebagai panel di depan bilik. (slightly different emphasis)

Differences in feel:

At the beginning (version 1), Dalam seminar itu sets the scene: “In that seminar…”.
At the end (version 2), it feels a bit like extra information you add after describing the main event.
Version 3 puts dalam seminar itu right after tiga orang penyelidik, which can suggest that these three researchers (who are in that seminar) are the ones you are talking about.

All are grammatical, but the original order (version 1) is very natural and clear.