Walachu Talkin’ About? Our Quick Guide To Walaun, Walanon And Other Walas Out There

You might have seen some of these “wala” words while reading articles and comments online.

For illustration purposes

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates.

If you happen to be chronically online, chances are, you have come across some new terms, especially in political debates.

Some of these new terms include “walaun” and “walanon” and you might be wondering what they mean.

Here’s a list of new “wala” words that you need to know:

1. Walaon/walaun

The words ‘Walaon” or “walaun” come from the Arab word “walak “ which means “a form of loyalty to a leader.”

According to Harakah Daily, the term “walaun” is allegedly used by PAS’s enemies to refer to super-loyal supporters of PAS.

In simplest terms, it allegedly describes anyone following the leaders blindly or behaving with a hive mind. And that can be a good thing in certain situations because there’s no kekecohan, kelam-kabut situations, or internal fighting.

@ekspressiej
♬ original sound – Ekspressi EJ – AkuRedhaKamu

How did the terms come about? Some believe it’s because PAS frequently uses the word “walak” so the opposition will call PAS supporters“walauns” for following everything the party says.

In retaliation, PAS supporters call opposition supporters “Walanon.”

via GIPHY

2. Walanon

The word ‘Walanon” also stems from the same Arab word “walak,” but it’s used to describe Pakatan Harapan supporters who are allegedly easily deceived by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Walanon” is allegedly derived from Anwar’s nickname, Bang Non. As such, the suffix “non” is added to a word to describe anything that comes from Anwar’s administration.

For example, the word Madanon (Madani+non) describes the supporters of the current government led by Anwar Ibrahim.

An example of the word “Madanon” in use is shown in the tweet below.

Rindu zaman lebai

Zaman Madanon telur Gred A RM 10.95 utk sepapan.. pic.twitter.com/0mWcfvubPE
— Gibran (@DeathtoKoruptor) September 21, 2024

At current times, “walaun” can be used to describe any person criticising government policies or not supporting the government.

Meanwhile, “walanon” can be used to describe anyone who supports the government.

Like someone said on Reddit, “It’s just kindergarten level of name calling” from both sides.

3. Walauntit

Funnily, no one knows the meaning of the word “walauntit” or if there’s any difference with the word “walaun.” It’s likely another play on the word for fun.

Since “walauntit” and “walaun” are usually used together in a sentence, some joked that it’s a genderised term, like how some languages like Spanish have masculine and feminine nouns/words.

Meanwhile, some took the meaning a little too X-rated by assuming the word “walauntit” is a combination of the words “walaun” and “kelentit” (clitoris). So, ladies and gentlemen, you can guess who is who lah between “walaun” and “walauntit.”

Is this an instance of gendered nouns? Funny because Malay has no gendered nouns (mostly – other than -an and -anita suffixes which is not entirely productive) hahaha
— (gcc)gccRccAUGG (@brunaidh) November 7, 2022

Apa maksud walauntit?
Walaun + kelentit ke?
— ملايو بارو (@melayu_baru) April 30, 2023

via GIPHY

4. Wallattah/walattah

The term “Wallattah” surfaced after local actor-singer Fattah Amin and his wife Nur Fazura Sharifuddin, also a local actress and singer, are going through a public divorce. “Wallatah” describes Team Fattah Amin aka the actor’s supporters.

We won’t go into detail about their divorce proceedings but it’s understood that they’re trying to reach an amicable settlement. They share a four-year-old daughter so mind your words!

Example of how the word is used about Fattah Amin’s supporters. Screenshot from mforum.cari.com.my

5. Walau/walauweh/walauwei

Most of us are familiar with this but there’s no harm in having a revision. Tuition kid syndrome!

Walau/walauweh/walauwei is a versatile word used to express shock, surprise, or disbelief, almost similar to “OMG!”.

So, this term can be used while complimenting a friend in a joking manner (walauweh so geng!), discovering prices of flights or hotel room rates (walau so expensive), and so on.