Learn Hardcore Malay: Saya kerja sambilan bukan hanya untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi untuk membantu keluarga saya. - I do part-time work not only to pay university fees, but to help my family.

Saya kerja sambilan
- More informal / conversational.
- Common in spoken Malaysian Malay and casual writing.
- Here kerja is used as a verb meaning to work.
Saya bekerja sambilan
- More standard / formal.
- Preferred in writing, exams, news, and formal speech.
- bekerja is the proper verb to work formed with the prefix ber-.

You could safely say:

Saya bekerja sambilan bukan hanya untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi untuk membantu keluarga saya.

In many everyday contexts in Malaysia, people drop ber- and just say kerja as a verb, especially in speech.

What does the pattern bukan hanya … tetapi … mean exactly? Is it like not only … but … in English?

Yes, it is essentially the same pattern as English not only … but (also) ….

bukan = not (used with nouns / phrases)
hanya = only / just
tetapi = but

So:

bukan hanya untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi untuk membantu keluarga saya
= not only to pay university fees, but to help my family (as well).

A slightly more formal/full pattern is:

bukan hanya / bukan sahaja … tetapi juga …
= not only … but also …

For example:

Saya bekerja sambilan bukan sahaja untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi juga untuk membantu keluarga saya.

In casual speech/writing, juga is often dropped, as in your sentence.

Why is it bukan hanya and not tidak hanya here? What is the difference between bukan and tidak?

Both bukan and tidak mean not, but they are used in different contexts.

bukan
- Negates nouns, pronouns, and certain fixed expressions.
- Often used in structures like bukan hanya / bukan sahaja / bukan sekadar.
- Example:
  - Ini bukan rumah saya. = This is not my house.
tidak
- Negates verbs, adjectives, and sometimes prepositional phrases.
- Example:
  - Saya tidak faham. = I do not understand.

In the pattern not only…but…, Malay uses bukan, so you say:

bukan hanya / bukan sahaja / bukan sekadar,
not tidak hanya in standard Malaysian Malay.

So bukan hanya untuk bayar yuran universiti follows a fixed idiomatic pattern.

Why is it untuk bayar yuran universiti and not untuk membayar yuran universiti? Is bayar correct as a verb here?

Yes, bayar is fully correct here.

In Malay, after untuk (for / in order to), you can use either:

the base verb: bayar
or the meN- verb: membayar

Both are grammatical. The base verb often sounds more natural and less formal in many cases.

So:

untuk bayar yuran universiti – natural, slightly more casual.
untuk membayar yuran universiti – more formal / written style.

This applies to many verbs:

untuk buat / untuk membuat = to do / to make
untuk beli / untuk membeli = to buy
untuk bantu / untuk membantu = to help

Your sentence mixes a casual feel (kerja sambilan, bayar) with a fairly clear, neutral structure, which is very typical in spoken Malaysian Malay.

If membayar is the formal form, why does the sentence use membantu but not membayar? Why not keep both the same level of formality?

Good observation. In real usage, people often mix base verbs and meN- verbs in the same sentence.

Some points:

membantu is extremely common and sounds very natural; the base form bantu is also correct, but membantu is strongly preferred in many contexts.
bayar is very commonly used as-is, without mem-, even in semi-formal contexts.

You could say any of these, all correct:

…untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi untuk membantu keluarga saya.
…untuk membayar yuran universiti, tetapi untuk membantu keluarga saya.
…untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi untuk bantu keluarga saya.

The original sentence strikes a natural, slightly informal balance that sounds like what a student would actually say.

Could the second untuk be omitted, like …bukan hanya untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi membantu keluarga saya?

Yes, it can be omitted, and native speakers sometimes do drop it in speech:

Saya kerja sambilan bukan hanya untuk bayar yuran universiti, tetapi membantu keluarga saya.

However:

Keeping untuk before both verbs (untuk bayar … tetapi untuk membantu …) sounds clearer and more balanced, especially in writing or careful speech.
Dropping the second untuk is more casual and can sometimes sound slightly incomplete in formal writing.

So your original version with both untuk is a good, clear choice.

What does kerja sambilan mean exactly? Is it the same as part-time job? Are there other ways to say this?

kerja sambilan literally means part-time work / side job.

kerja = work / job
sambilan = part-time / done on the side

It corresponds closely to English part-time job.

Other common expressions:

kerja separuh masa – literally half-time work; also means part-time job; sounds slightly more formal / standard.
English loanword: kerja part-time – widely used in casual speech in Malaysia, especially among younger speakers.

Examples:

Saya ada kerja sambilan di kafe.
Dia buat kerja separuh masa sebagai pemandu Grab.
Saya kerja part-time hujung minggu.

All are understandable; your sentence with kerja sambilan is natural.

Why is it yuran universiti and not yuran universiti saya? Does it mean my own university fees, or university fees in general?

In context, yuran universiti is naturally understood as my own university fees.

Malay often omits possessive pronouns when the meaning is clear from context:

saya belajar di universiti = I study at a university / at my university (context decides)
dia bayar sewa rumah = he/she pays rent (for his/her house)

You could say:

yuran universiti saya = my university fees (more explicit)

But in a sentence about your part-time job and your studies, yuran universiti will normally be interpreted as your fees, not just any random university fees.

Both are correct; the shorter one is more natural in everyday speech.

Why is it keluarga saya instead of saya punya keluarga? Are they both correct?

Both can be used, but they differ in style and region.

keluarga saya
- Standard, correct Malay.
- Neutral formality, used in writing and speech.
- Literally my family.
saya punya keluarga
- More colloquial/informal.
- Typical of certain dialects and casual Malaysian speech.
- Literally the family that I own / that belongs to me.

Standard recommendation (for exams, writing, formal communication):

Use keluarga saya.

Example:

Saya sayang keluarga saya. = I love my family.

Your sentence uses the standard, widely acceptable form.

Why is saya repeated at the end (keluarga saya)? Could I just say …untuk membantu keluarga and drop saya?

You can drop saya:

…tetapi untuk membantu keluarga.

This will still be understood as my family, because it's your situation.

Differences:

keluarga saya
- Slightly more explicit and personal.
- Emphasizes my own family.
keluarga (without saya)
- Slightly more general-sounding, but in this context still taken to mean your family.

Both are natural, but keluarga saya feels a bit more complete and clear in a standalone sentence.

Why doesn’t the sentence use adalah anywhere, like Saya adalah …? When do we use adalah?

adalah is used mainly:

To link a subject to a noun phrase:
- Dia adalah doktor. = He/She is a doctor.
Sometimes to introduce definitions / explanations:
- Tujuan utama projek ini adalah untuk…

In your sentence, you have a verb:

Saya kerja sambilan … = I work part-time …

This is a normal subject + verb structure, so you do not insert adalah. You also wouldn’t add it in English (I am work part-time is wrong).

If you turned it into a noun phrase structure, then you might use adalah:

Kerja sambilan saya adalah untuk bayar yuran universiti dan membantu keluarga saya.
= My part-time work is (in order) to pay university fees and to help my family.

What is the difference between bantu, membantu, and tolong? Why does the sentence use membantu?

All are related to help, but with different usage:

bantu
- Base verb: to help.
- Common in casual speech, especially after nak, boleh, mau, etc.
- Example: Boleh bantu saya? = Can you help me?
membantu
- meN- form of bantu.
- Slightly more formal/neutral and often used in writing.
- Example: Dia selalu membantu ibunya. = He/she always helps his/her mother.
tolong
- Often means please help, a request marker.
- Used a lot when asking for help, sometimes followed by a verb.
- Example: Tolong saya. / Tolong buka pintu. = Please help me. / Please open the door.

In your sentence:

…untuk membantu keluarga saya
sounds natural and neutral, suitable for both speech and writing.

You could also say:

…untuk bantu keluarga saya. (more casual)

But tolong would not fit in the same way here; it is more for requests, not for describing ongoing purposes or responsibilities.

Could I say Saya bekerja sambilan bukan sahaja untuk… tetapi juga untuk… instead? Would that be more correct or more formal?

Yes, that version is perfectly correct and is actually a very standard textbook pattern:

Saya bekerja sambilan bukan sahaja untuk membayar yuran universiti, tetapi juga untuk membantu keluarga saya.

Notes:

bukan sahaja instead of bukan hanya – both are fine; sahaja is a bit more formal/standard than hanya in this pattern.
tetapi juga – explicitly includes juga = also, making the not only… but also… structure very clear.
bekerja, membayar – both add to a more formal tone.

So:

Original sentence: natural, semi-casual Malaysian style.
With bekerja, bukan sahaja, membayar, tetapi juga: more formal, good for essays and exams.

Is this sentence more Malaysian Malay or Indonesian, or is it fine in both?

The sentence is most natural as Malaysian Malay:

sambilan is very common in Malaysia for part-time.
The overall rhythm (Saya kerja sambilan…) matches Malaysian speech patterns.

In Indonesian:

People would more likely say paruh waktu or sambilan depending on region, and the verb form bekerja is preferred in writing:
- Saya bekerja paruh waktu bukan hanya untuk membayar uang kuliah, tetapi untuk membantu keluarga saya.

An Indonesian speaker will still understand your original sentence, but the exact phrasing is more typically Malaysian Malay.