Balfas was born in Krukut,
Batavia (now Jakarta),
Dutch East Indies, on 25 December 1922. He came from an ethnic
Betawi family of Arab descent. Little is known about his early life, except that he graduated from a Dutch-run high school (MULO) in 1940. Balfas began his writing career in the 1940s. His first short stories were published in
Asia Raja, the official newspaper of the
Japanese occupation government, in 1943. He later began contributing poems, stories, and essays to the Indonesian-run magazine
Pembaroean. During the
Indonesian National Revolution, Balfas found employment as a reporter. He also headed the magazine
Masyarakat. In 1952 Balfas released
Dr. Tjipto Mangunkusumo, a biography of the
resistance leader of the same name; it was published by Djambatan as part of series of biographies of revolutionary leaders. That same year he released
Lingkaran-Lingkaran Retak (
Cracked Circles), a collection of five short stories, led by "Anak Revolusi" ("Child of the Revolution"). In 1953, with Sudjati S.A., he established the magazine
Kisah, which exclusively published short stories. He continued as one of the magazine's editors, with
HB Jassin and
Idrus, until it stopped printing in 1956. In 1956 Balfas published the children's story
Suling Emas (
The Golden Flute). The following year he wrote an adult-oriented
radio drama,
Tamu Malam (
Nighttime Guest). In 1960 he published another children's story,
Anak-Anak Kampung Jambu (
Children of Jambu Village). In 1961, he helped Jassin establish the magazine
Sastra; the following year he moved to Malaysia. From 1962 to 1967 Balfas worked at
Voice of Malaysia. While living in Malaysia he published his only novel,
Retak: Lahirnya Sebuah Mythe (
Cracked: The Birth of a Myth); it was originally entitled
Aku Bukan Nabi (
I am Not a Prophet). In 1968, Balfas, dissatisfied with life in Malaysia, moved to Australia to teach at the
University of Sydney. In 1975 he took a year's leave to research the history of Indonesian literature. Balfas died in Jakarta on 5 June 1975 after being hospitalised for a fit of
asthma. He was buried in
Karet Bivak Cemetery. He left behind an unfinished manuscript entitled
Si Gomar; Dutch scholar of Indonesian literature
A. Teeuw describes the work as Balfas' most interesting. ==Themes==