Phil Wang owes his life to a Malaysian museum
Comedian Phil Wang says he would not be alive if it was not for the Sabah Museum in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Phil Wang owes his life to a Malaysian museum.
The 35-year-old comedian's mum volunteered at the Sabah Museum in Kota Kinabalu, and that is where she met Phil's dad.
He told the new issue of The Big Issue magazine: "As a kid, I went to the Sabah Museum a lot because it's the museum my mother volunteered at when she left the UK in the '80s to volunteer in Borneo.
"And that's when she met my father.
"So if it weren't for the Sabah Museum, and if it weren't for museums, I wouldn't be alive.
"I literally owe museums my life. Maybe that goes some way to explaining my love of them."
The Taskmaster star would get his Uncle Bobby to drive him to the Sabah Museum "every Friday" so he could marvel at the many artefacts on display.
Phil recalled: "I was obsessed as a kid. I made my Uncle Bobby drive us there every Friday.
"There were traditional long houses, native artefacts, animal skeletons - history, natural history and a lot of cultural history.
"I loved it."
The Wonka actor jumped at the opportunity to be one of the judges of the Art Fund Museum of the Year award in June because he got to visit five of the shortlisted best museums across the UK.
These were Beamish in County Durham, Compton Verney in Warwickshire, both in England, the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Chapter in Cardiff, Wales, and Perth Museum, home of the Stone of Destiny, in Scotland.
Phil said: "I jumped at the opportunity because I go to museums and galleries all the time anyway.
"So to be forced to go to some of the best was a dream come true.
"All the judges would turn up at the same time like some terrifying council or the Nazgul in The Lord of the Rings."
And the experience has left Phil desperate to see more museums.
He said: "It was amazing to see how much talent and commitment there is in the museum sector, which is still dealing with the fallout from Covid, when visitor numbers collapsed."
Despite Phil thinking it is a "blessing" that most UK museums tend to be free, he wants to see more government funding pumped into museums.
He said: "And the UK is already ahead of most developed nations because museums tend to be free as standard.
"And that is such a blessing. It is also putting a lot of effort into making these spaces accessible.
"But a running theme for all the institutions was that they need more funding.
"Culture always needs more funding. Art always needs more funding. Because it is always the first thing to be cut when times are rough and governments have to save money.
"The arts suffer first. So it's about government funding - but also up to us as consumers of art and museums, and as Brits, to visit these places."
