Pinoy Invasion

I sense something fili... er, fishy going on in our country in recent years.

OK go to an Indian restaurant and you'll be served by Indian or Malay or Indon waiters, that's given. But go to a medium-class to high-class restaurant and... you recognise the type of English slang you always hear out there, that distinguishable way of talking...

Most of the waiters and waitresses in Brunei's good fast-foods/restaurants are suddenly Filipino. What the heck is going on?

Are they some sort of efficient race? (Malay waiters suck, they've pissed me off too many times already), do they specialise in this kind of work? Since the amah trade is conquered by Indons, do they resort to public service?

The probable answer may lie on the fact that they are skilled workers AND cheap labour. Skilled as in can speak English, and put in a few Malay lessons (which may not be needed because you see their Filipino face and straightaway start to speak English and if you're someone like my mom or me, talk in their slang) and you get the amah is to Indon version.

Cheap labour is making Brunei daft. Our unemployment rate is skyrocketing, and usually places like eateries and service work are the places where you get your advantage in your resume/CV. There will always be that lucky guy who pipped you for the job because of his ECA, another that will do so because he's worked somewhere, so maybe people like me will do odd jobs that no one will take such as singing La Camisa Negra in some freaky but posh Gadong restaurant, if that job wasn't filled by a Filipino already.