Exactly Foundation – Entah Tak Tahu by Shahrom Mahat

Shahrom Mahat considers his identity as a half Malay, half Chinese person raised Malay-Muslim, and examines whether the Haji Lane area, known today for music, food and entertainment, still bears traces of its past as a hub of spirituality and scholarship for Malay culture and Haj pilgrims.

The keynote essay, Rejecting Ethnicity in Haji Lane? is written by Syed Farid Alatas. A professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore, he has also headed the Department of Malay Studies at NUS from 2007 – 2013. He lectured at the University of Malaya in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies prior to joining NUS. In the early 1990s, he was a Research Associate at the Women and Human Resource Studies Unit, Science University of Malaysia. Professor Alatas has authored numerous books and articles, including Ibn Khaldun (Oxford University Press, 2003); Applying Ibn Khaldun: The Recovery of  Lost Tradition in Sociology (Routledge, 2014), and with Vineeta Sinha, Sociological Theory Beyond the Canon (Palgrave, 2017). His areas of interest include the sociology of Islam, social theory, religion and reform, intra- and inter-religious dialogue, and the study of Orientalism.

About Shahrom Mahat

Shahrom Mahat is a commercial photographer in Singapore. An alumni of Film, Sound & Video at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, he has directed television documentaries and won numerous awards for his short film entitled Snip Snip. Shahrom’s first love is analogue photography. He shoots on black and white film for his travels as well as his personal works, which have been showcased on travel websites and exhibitions.

About Exactly Foundation

Exactly Foundation is a not-for-profit, trademarked registered label established by Li Li Chung to commission photographers to create works that stimulate discussion of social concerns in Singapore. Its goal is to produce new knowledge by having viewers engage with the photographs and share them with friends and family over a 2-3 month period.