The script on the top of the sign is Jawi. It is the Arabic way of writing the Malay language, the official language of Brunei. It was created when the Arab traders came to Southeast Asia centuries ago.

I was taught Jawi in primary school for maybe a year. Now that the Malay language is almost exclusively written with the Roman/Latin alphabet in Malaysia, it’s quite nice to see Jawi again in Brunei.

It’s written from right to left. So, the Jawi word for Lorong (Lane) is actually above “Manis” in this sign. Instead of L.O.R.O.N.G., the individual characters are: Lam Wau Ra Wau Nga.