Meet S'pore museum's new Ah Beng-sador
Mixed reaction to choice of Mark Lee as National Heritage Board ambassador
By Ho Lian-Yi
November 03, 2007
WHAT? Me, an ambassador for Singapore's museums?
Comedian Mark Lee has not stepped into a museum for 20 years. -- File picture
Even Mark Lee himself was surprised that he was chosen to be the face of the National Heritage Board's (NHB) Explore Singapore! 2007 campaign.
Especially when the self-professed 'Ah Beng' had not been to the National Museum in 20 years.
'Because, I understand what is my image, I don't want my image to spoil the museum's image,' the 39-year-old comedian candidly told The New Paper.
Even his friends couldn't believe it.
'They said, please, Mark, don't bull,' he said.
They're not the only ones. Reactions from the public are mixed.
Some, like Mr Lin Jianzhi, 27, a supply chain planner, said Mark's appointment was refreshing.
'You get someone who is the living embodiment of an Ah Beng, it'll make people go, 'Eh?' At the very least it'll stir up controversy,' he said.
But others, like Mr Kua Beng Suan, 51, a driver, said in Mandarin: 'It doesn't make sense. He's a joker, How can he be an ambassador? He doesn't have credentials to be one!'
Miss Felda Chay, 21, an undergraduate, couldn't agree more.
'It's a museum, shouldn't it be a bit more refined and cultured? Shouldn't the ambassador reflect that?'
Mark, however, said he decided to accept the job because he was convinced by NHB's chief executive Michael Koh's reasoning.
Mr Koh, 46, wanted to reach out to families, the young and the old - among whom Mark is an 'icon'.
He wanted to show that the Singapore National Museum is not just for the elite, that it's 'not daunting, not unreachable - it's for all of us'.
Mr Koh said: 'We want to bring the average Singaporean, the man on the street, into the museum.'
He wanted the promotional campaign, which runs from 10 Nov to 13 Dec, the school holiday period, to be fun and engaging.
As the museum's ambassador, other than being the campaign's public face, Mark's duties include taking taxi drivers on a tour of the Singapore Philatelic Museum and Singapore Art Museum on 7 Dec. However, he intends to do more than just that.
As for the fee, he said he understands that NHB has a limited budget and so told his manager not to ask for much.
This is because he thinks it an honour to be chosen. Also, he said that it was a rare opportunity to move away from his image.
No wonder the TV comedian has been brushing up on history.
Since the appointment last month, he went to the National Museum twice and Singapore Art Museum once.
He was given guided tours where he was briefed on Singapore's history.
The National Museum, he said, is 'very warm and nice' and 'you can know a lot of things'.
He gushed about what he learnt about film history, saying: 'Do you know who is Singapore's earliest film director? It's our Malay friend P Ramlee! Not Jack Neo!'
Mark is also aware of the brickbats.
He said: 'A lot of people will have this kind of thinking. But for sure I'll make this thing work.'
He also intends to also take children from a local charity to the museum.
Mark asked doubters to withhold judgment.
He said: 'You must give (a person) a chance to show he can do it.'
Mark Lee turns museum ambassador 
