However, tourists around the globe know and regularly visit the ancient wooden Thai house-turned-museum. Located in Soi Suan Phlu off South Sathorn Road, it was once the residence of former Prime Minister MR Kukrit Pramoj.

The museum is one of Bangkok's rare wooden Thai-style houses that have been converted into museums. Others include the Jim Thompson Museum in Pathum Wan district and the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum in Phya Thai district.

Since news of its closure broke early this week, it has not made any changes on our cultural scene, but it has gained attention from the media.

News of the closure stemmed from a conflict between Kukrit's son, ML Rongrit, and the 80th Kukrit Foundation, which has been running the museum. A previous threat of closure also came following a disagreement between the foundation and Rongrit. While the foundation would like to build a new Kukrit library plus a huge conference hall on the four-rai plot of land behind the museum, Rongrit, the landlord, prefers to keep the house as it was when his dad was alive.

The foundation will move out of the museum on June 30. ML Rongrit will take over the management of the museum from the 80th Kukrit Foundation, which has been running it for seven years.

Indeed, both sides have the same mission, promoting Kukrit's legacy.

The foundation had been planning to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Kukrit's birth in 2011 by building the library and conference hall and had wanted to sign a long-term lease with Rongrit to carry out their multimillion-baht plans. The foundation, which Kukrit established, had unofficial permission for their plans, but an agreement on a long-term rental could not be reached between the foundation and Rongrit. The foundation therefore decided to pull out.

Rongrit will operate the museum from July onward. Although he now has no plan for which organisation will be put in charge of managing the museum, he said he would continue his father's mission of promoting Thai arts.

The house, located in a 5-rai compound, was once a khon (classical masked dance) mini-theatre established by Kukrit, a khon master and writer named a National Artist in 1985. Kukrit's personal belongings, including khon masks and rare pictures, are on display at the house.

The museum has received about 30,000 visitors since opening its doors to the public in 2000. Surrounded by skyscrapers in a busy commercial area, it is a popular tourist spot. To help with expenses, tickets are Bt50 each, and the back lawn is rented out for book launches and weddings.

This is a smaller operation than other private museums in Bangkok, like the Jim Thompson House.

Running museums here is a hard task. A lively museum requires professional administrators to plan interesting activities, initiate educational programmes and most importantly to oversee finances. Most museums in Thailand cannot survive on ticket sales alone but require income from other sources such as the sale of arty goodies or proceeds from a cafe/restaurant on the grounds.

Jim Thompson House is rare among museums in that it is making a profit from ticket sales, the sale of its silk products and its restaurant. For an admission fee of Bt100 (Bt50 for students), the museum provides professional guides who can speak English, French, Japanese, German and Thai. It's no surprise then that thousands of visitors flock to the museum yearly. Besides promoting Jim Thompson's legacy, the house also hosts a variety of arts and culture events. To promote contemporary art, the Jim Thompson Foundation opened its new centre in the house compound on Soi Kasemsan Two (opposite the National Stadium). The art centre also joins hands with other cultural institutes to broaden its content and audience. The centre will be hosting the "Place and the Plate" exhibition, part of the La Fete French Cultural Festival hosted by the French Embassy and Alliance Française. Cedric Morisset and Gridthiya Gaweewong will be the curators of the exhibition on modern culinary artistry with Thai and French artists opening on June 29. Along with the exhibition, organisers will host a series of workshops and activities during the two-month show.

The success of Jim Thompson House offers the Kukrit Museum some hope.

Since it is registered as a heritage site by the Culture Ministry's Fine Arts Department, the survival of the museum is also the responsibility of the ministry.

Those who have never been to the Kukrit Museum should take this opportunity to pay a visit. Thais especially will learn more about Thai arts and culture through the eyes of our former premier.

  Phatarawadee Phataranawik