Learn Hardcore Malay: Di pinggir bandar ini, orang biasanya mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong. - On the outskirts of this city, people usually have friendly views towards tourists.

di pinggir bandar – in the suburbs / on the outskirts of the town/city.
di luar bandar – literally “outside the town/city”, but in practice it usually means rural areas / the countryside, not suburbs.

So:

di pinggir bandar ini = suburban area of this particular town/city.
di luar bandar = rural area in general, countryside, often farther away than the suburbs.

Why does the sentence start with “Di pinggir bandar ini”? Could we put the place later in the sentence?

Malay word order is flexible. Starting with the location is a common way to set the scene (topic):

Di pinggir bandar ini, orang biasanya mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong.
In the suburbs of this city, people usually have a friendly attitude toward tourists.

You could also say:

Orang di pinggir bandar ini biasanya mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong.

This is equally correct and maybe slightly more neutral. The original version just emphasizes the place (“As for the suburbs of this city…”), which is very natural in Malay narrative or descriptive sentences.

Why is “orang” used without an article or plural marker? How do I say “the people here”?

Malay doesn’t have articles like “a / the”, and it usually doesn’t mark plural on the noun.

orang can mean “a person”, “the person”, “people”, or “the people”, depending on context.

In this sentence:

orang biasanya… = people usually… (generic, people in general in that area).

To make “the people here” clearer, you can say:

orang di sini – the people here
orang di pinggir bandar ini – the people in the suburbs of this city
penduduk di pinggir bandar ini – the residents in the suburbs of this city (more specific: residents)

Plural is usually understood from context; you don’t need to say “orang-orang” unless you really want to stress plurality, and even then, it can sound a bit bookish or stylistic.

What is the difference between “mempunyai” and “ada” when saying “have”?

Both can mean “to have”, but they differ in style and usage.

mempunyai

More formal, written, careful speech.
Often used with abstract nouns or more formal contexts.
Example: mempunyai pandangan, mempunyai masalah, mempunyai hak.

ada

More common in everyday spoken Malay.
Can mean “there is/are” or “have/has” depending on context.
Example (spoken):
Orang di sini biasanya ada pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong.

In your sentence, “mempunyai pandangan” sounds slightly more formal or textbook-like than “ada pandangan”, but both are grammatically correct.

Can “biasanya” be placed in other positions? For example, at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. “Biasanya” (usually) is quite flexible:

All of these are grammatical:

Di pinggir bandar ini, orang biasanya mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong.
(the most natural; adverb right before the verb phrase)
Biasanya, di pinggir bandar ini, orang mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong.
(emphasizes “as a usual rule”; sounds like a general statement or introduction)
Di pinggir bandar ini, biasanya orang mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong.
(also okay; still natural)

Less natural:

Di pinggir bandar ini, orang mempunyai biasanya pandangan yang mesra… – this is awkward; “biasanya” normally doesn’t go between the verb and its object like that.

So: put “biasanya” before the subject or before the verb phrase, but not in the middle of “mempunyai pandangan”.

What does “pandangan” mean here, and could we use another word instead?

Literally:

pandangan comes from pandang (to look), so it can mean:
- a look / gaze
- a view (visual)
- an opinion / point of view

In this sentence:

mempunyai pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong is better understood as
“to have a friendly attitude / view of tourists”.

Alternative words:

sikap – attitude
Orang biasanya mempunyai sikap yang mesra terhadap pelancong.
tanggapan – perception
Orang biasanya mempunyai tanggapan yang positif terhadap pelancong.
layanan – treatment (more about how they treat you)
Orang biasanya memberikan layanan yang mesra kepada pelancong.

So “pandangan” focuses on their view/opinion, whereas “layanan” focuses more on how they treat tourists in practice.

Why do we say “pandangan yang mesra” instead of just “pandangan mesra”?

In Malay, adjectives often come after the noun, and “yang” is commonly used as a linker (similar to a very flexible relative pronoun):

pandangan yang mesra = a view that is friendly

Using “yang” is:

very common in standard Malay,
especially when:
- the adjective is longer (a phrase, not a single short word),
- or you want to be clear and formal.

You can sometimes drop “yang”:

pandangan mesra is not impossible, but it sounds more compact and less standard, and in many cases it just feels a bit off or poetic.

In careful, neutral standard Malay, “pandangan yang mesra” is the most natural, clear form.

What’s the nuance of “mesra”? How is it different from “ramah”?

Both relate to being friendly, but they have slightly different flavours:

mesra

friendly, warm, close
can also imply intimate / close relationship in other contexts:
- hubungan yang mesra – a close (possibly intimate) relationship
here, pandangan yang mesra = kind, warm, friendly attitude.

ramah

sociable, talkative, welcoming
used more for people’s manner of interacting:
- orangnya sangat ramah – he/she is very friendly (chatty, approachable)
- ramah-tamah – friendliness, hospitality

In your sentence, you could also use:

pandangan yang positif – positive view
sikap yang ramah terhadap pelancong – a friendly/approachable attitude towards tourists

But “mesra” works well here and is very natural.

Why is “terhadap” used here, and how is it different from “kepada” or “pada”?

terhadap is usually used for attitudes, feelings, or actions directed at someone/something in an abstract way:

pandangan yang mesra terhadap pelancong – a friendly view towards tourists
sikap negatif terhadap perubahan – a negative attitude towards change

kepada is more general and often used for:

giving something to someone:
beri hadiah kepada dia – give a present to him/her
saying something to someone:
cakap kepada guru – speak to the teacher
also feelings:
sayang kepada anak – love (towards) the child

pada is broader still:

location in time or abstract location:
pada masa itu – at that time
pada pendapat saya – in my opinion
can overlap with kepada, but less common with pandangan.

In this sentence, “terhadap” is the most natural because we’re talking about an attitude/view toward a group (tourists), not physically giving or saying something to them.

Is “pelancong” singular or plural here? How would I clearly say “tourists”?

Malay usually doesn’t mark singular/plural on the noun. “pelancong” can mean:

a tourist
the tourist
tourists
the tourists

Context decides.

Here, because you’re talking about “people usually have a friendly view”, it’s naturally understood as “tourists” (in general).

To make the plural explicit, you can say:

para pelancong – the tourists (as a group; often in writing, news, formal speech)
pelancong-pelancong – tourists (reduplication to emphasize plurality; can sound a bit formal/bookish in modern usage)
In speech, many would still just say pelancong, and rely on context.

So your original sentence is already naturally understood as “…towards tourists.”

Are there more casual or colloquial ways to say this sentence in spoken Malay?

Yes. A more colloquial version, as might be heard in everyday speech in Malaysia, could be:

Dekat kawasan pinggir bandar ni, orang sini biasanya mesra dengan pelancong.

Notes:

dekat instead of di – very common in speech for locations.
kawasan pinggir bandar ni – “this suburban area”; ni is the colloquial form of ini.
orang sini – the people here.
mesra dengan pelancong – friendy with tourists (using dengan instead of terhadap is common in speech).

Your original sentence is good standard Malay; the colloquial one just sounds more like everyday conversation.

How do you pronounce “pinggir” and “pelancong”?

Approximate pronunciation (using English-friendly explanations and IPA):

pinggir – /piŋ.ɡir/

ping + hard g (as in “go”) + eer
The ng is like in English “sing”, but followed by a clear g sound: piŋ-gir.
Stress is fairly even: PING-gir (Malay doesn’t use strong stress like English).

pelancong – /pəlan.t͡ʃoŋ/

pe – like the ‘pe’ in “pencil” but shorter, almost like a schwa: pə.
lan – like “lun” in “lunch” but with a clearer a: lan.
cong – “chong” (as in “chocolate” + “-ong”), with ng like in “song”.
The c in Malay is always pronounced /t͡ʃ/ like “ch” in “chocolate”.
So roughly: pə-LAN-chong with a simple, even rhythm.