The Culture Ministry has abandoned a plan to merge the National Museum Nakhon Pathom with U Thong museum in adjacent Suphan Buri province after local resistance, permanent secretary for culture Apinan Poshyanand said yesterday.
A stucco depicting a scene in Surupa Jataka in the Dvaravati art style is displayed at the National Museum Nakhon Pathom. The Fine Arts Department has scrapped a plan to close the museum and merge it with U Thong museum in Suphan Buri. Photo courtesy of the Fine Arts Department
He said the merger plan, drafted by the Fine Arts Department, was aimed at improving efficiency in museum management given the Nakhon Pathom museum which is located on the premises of Phra Pathom Chedi temple is too small and has limited staff.
It receives only a few visitors each year, said the permanent secretary.
The merger plan was opposed by local conservationists who lodged a series of petitions and protests amid rumours that more than 1,800 artifacts had been transferred to the U Thong museum. Signs and banners against the merger plan have been erected across Nakhon Pathom city.
Mr Apinan dismissed the rumours, saying the Nakhon Pathom museum is still open and all the artifacts remained in their place.
The Nakhon Pathom museum houses masterpieces from the Dvaravati era (8th-9th century) which were excavated from archaeological sites in Nakhon Pathom and nearby provinces in the Central Plains, known as the cradle of Dvaravati civilisation.
He said resistance is a good sign as it shows local people appreciate the value of national heritage.
"The move shows that local people have the will to protect their heritage," said Mr Apinan.
In an earlier interview, Fine Arts Department chief Borvornvate Rungrujee said the agency was looking at the possibility of relocating the Nakhon Pathom museum to a new, larger site elsewhere in the province.