Ayah dia meninggal tahun lalu.

In Malay, possessors often come after the noun.

So:

• ayah dia = his/her father
• literally, something like father of him/her

If you said dia ayah, that would normally mean he is a father or he, father... depending on context, not his father.

So the word order here is very natural:

• Ayah dia = his/her father

It can do both, depending on position and context.

• As a subject, dia usually means he or she
• After a noun, it can show possession, so ayah dia means his father or her father

Malay does not distinguish he vs she, or his vs her, with different word forms the way English does. Context tells you which one is meant.

So in this sentence:

• Ayah dia = his/her father

Yes. Ayahnya meninggal tahun lalu is also natural and means essentially the same thing: His/Her father died last year.

The ending -nya can mark third-person possession:

• ayahnya = his father / her father

Compared with ayah dia:

• ayah dia is clear and common in speech
• ayahnya can sound a bit smoother or more compact
• both are correct

In many everyday situations, either one works.

Malay verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

The verb meninggal stays the same whether the action is present, past, or sometimes future. Time is usually shown by context or by time expressions.

Here, the past meaning comes from:

• tahun lalu = last year

So:

• Ayah dia meninggal tahun lalu = His/Her father died last year

Even though meninggal itself does not change, the sentence is clearly in the past because of tahun lalu.

Meninggal means to pass away / to die, and it is a polite and respectful word, especially for people.

This is important because Malay has another common word:

• mati = to die, but it is less respectful for people and is more often used for animals, plants, machines, or in blunt speech

So for a person, especially in a sentence about someone’s father, meninggal is the appropriate choice.

Because it isn’t necessary.

Malay often leaves out aspect markers like:

• sudah = already
• telah = has/have, already, formal past/perfective marker

Since tahun lalu already tells you the action happened in the past, the sentence is complete without them.

You could say:

• Ayah dia sudah meninggal tahun lalu
• Ayah dia telah meninggal tahun lalu

But these are not needed, and the original sentence sounds natural as it is.

Tahun lalu means last year.

Literally:

• tahun = year
• lalu = past / last

Malay often puts time expressions at the end of the sentence, especially in simple statements.

So this pattern is very common:

• [subject] + [verb] + [time]

Here:

• Ayah dia = subject
• meninggal = verb
• tahun lalu = time expression

That is why tahun lalu appears at the end.

They are related, but not identical in tone or usage.

• ayah = father / dad; very common and natural
• bapa = father; often a bit more formal
• bapak is more associated with Indonesian, though Malay speakers may recognize it

In this sentence, ayah sounds very normal and everyday. It is a good choice for referring to someone’s father.

Not in standard Malay for this meaning.

You may hear dia punya ayah in some colloquial varieties, but in standard Malay it is much better to say:

• ayah dia
• or ayahnya

So for learners, the safest standard forms are:

• Ayah dia meninggal tahun lalu
• Ayahnya meninggal tahun lalu

Yes, it can mean either his dad or her dad.

Malay dia does not mark gender. So without extra context, you cannot tell whether the person is male or female.

That means:

• Ayah dia meninggal tahun lalu can mean
  • His father died last year
  • or Her father died last year

You find out from the surrounding conversation or situation.

Yes, that is grammatically fine.

• ayah dia = his/her father
• bapa dia = also his/her father

The difference is mostly style and tone:

• ayah is very common and everyday
• bapa can sound a bit more formal or literary in some contexts

So the original sentence with ayah feels very natural in ordinary speech.