Where Only the Best Matters

About me

My name is Arfan Achyar. Abu Fira is my nick. I am an English to Indonesia translator and vice versa. I have been a translator since about 1999. I provide fast, accurate, and high-quality translation. I got into this translation business not because I want to be a translator but more because of the fact that in 1998-1999, during the height of economic crisis in Indonesia, I could not find any job. One of my paternal uncles who happened to know that I was good in English offered me to translate a document, a safety document to be precise, from English to Indonesian; and he was satisfied with the results.

Afterwards, I started offering my services to book publishers around Jakarta, my hometown, which I knew printed and published books translated from English. In the beginning, I had a little luck, but with perseverance, I managed to attract the attention of a book publisher. I translated 5 books for this publisher and one of them was an English bestseller titled Megatrend 2010 by Patricia Aberdene and John Naisbitt. From then on, book-translation orders never cease. And until today, I have worked with several major publishing houses in Indonesia and translated many books for them.

At about the same time as my first effort to attract the attention of book publishing companies, a friend offered me a freelance job as an interpreter. I was required to interpret for the participants of a workshop on labour issues; something that I was not familiar with but I regarded as a challenge. It turned out excellent and the institution organising the event was very satisfied and kept using me whenever there is a need for an interpreter.

For me, translation is an art. It is not merely changing one sentence from one language to the other. Translating means preserving the intended meaning the author wants the reader to understand.

Clients

• The World Bank; Jakarta's office.
• Asia Financial Network; Jakarta.
• Lingotek; a translation agency in USA.
• Re-Trans; a translation agency in Germany.
• Nord Traduction; a translation agency in France.
• Translated.net; a translation agency in Italy.
• Transnet; a translation agency in Singapore.
• Knowledgeworks; a translation agency in India.
• Axis Translations; a translation agency in UK.
• N.I.C. (Asia Pacific) Ltd.; a translation agency in Thailand.
• Remdex; an Indonesian labor NGO focusing on labor’s empowerment in Indonesia.
• PLAN Indonesia; a British NGO working on children’s issues such as education, the impact of domestic violence on children, and children empowerment and participation.
• LIPS – Lembaga Informasi Perburuhan Sedane (Sedane Labour Resource Center), Bogor, Indonesia; an Indonesian labor NGO focusing on labor’s empowerment in Indonesia.
• CIFOR - Center For International Forestry Research; an International NGO working on the issues of forestry and people.
• Zahra Publishing House, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Dinar Publishing House, Bandung, Indonesia.
• Alvabet Publishing House, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Transmedia Publishing House, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, Indonesia; a major publishing house in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Prenada Media Publishing House, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Many other personal clients which are too numerous to mention.

List of books which I have translated into Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia) so far.

1. 24-hour pharmacist, Suzy Cohen. (In publication process.) Will be published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
2. Balanced Brand, John Foley and Julie Kendrick. Published by Transmedia Publishing House, Jakarta.
3. Business the Bill Gates’ Way, Des Dearlove. Published by Zahra Publishing House, Jakarta.
4. Business the Jack Welch's Way, Stuart Crainer. (In publication process.) Will be published by Zahra Publishing House, Jakarta.
5. Corporate Sufi, Azim Jamal. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
6. Get Real Get Rich, Farrah Gray. Published by Zahra Publishing House, Jakarta.
7. Hizbullah, Party of God; an Islamic Movement Perspective, Edited by Abdar Rahman Koya. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
8. How Toyota Became #1, David Magee. Published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta.
9. Instant Persuasion, Laurie Puhn J.D. Published by Transmedia Publishing House, Jakarta.
10. Kahlil Gibran Reader, Kahlil Gibran. (In publication process.) Will be published by Dinar Publishing House, Bandung.
11. Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D. H. Lawrence. Published by Alvabet Publishing House, Jakarta.
12. Letting Go of Your Bananas, Daniel T. Drubin. Published by Hikmah Publishing House.
13. Mafia's Greates Hits, David H. Jacobs. Published by Dastan Books.
14. Making War in the Name of God, Christopher Catherwood. (In publication process). Will be published by Dinar Publishing House, Bandung.
15. Megatrend 2010, Patricia Aberdene and John Naisbitt. Published by Transmedia Publishing House, Jakarta.
16. My Name is Salma, Fadia Faqir. Published by Alvabet Publishing House, Jakarta.
17. Nanny 911, Deborah Carrol and Stella Reid, with Karen Moline. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta,
18. One Person, Multiple Career, Marci Alboher. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
19. Ramalan Tentang Muhammad, Abdul Haq Vidyarthi and Abdul Ahad Dawud. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
20. Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves, Naomi Aldort. (In publication process.) Will be published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
21. The Read-Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
22. The Chinese Tao of Business, George T. Haley. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
23. The Honday Way, Masaaki Sato. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.
24. The World is Curved, David M. Smick. (In Publication Process). Will be published by Zahra Publishing House, Jakarta.
25. Th!nk, Michael Le Gault. Published by Transmedia Publishing House, Jakarta.
26. What Made jack welch Jack Welch, Stephen H. Baum. (In Publication Process.) Will be published by Zahra, Jakarta.
27. When Friendship Hurts, Jan Yager Ph.D. Published by Transmedia Publishing House, Jakarta.
28. Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life, Vimala Rogers. Published by Hikmah Publishing House, Jakarta.

Availability and How to get hold of me

I am basically connected to the web 24/7 due to the broadband connection I am currently using. However, please observe the time different between your place and Indonesia (GMT+7). My working day starts at 8 in the morning until 8 at night. So, if you are compelled to contact me outside this working hour, I will do my best to return your message the next working day.

I can be easily contacted through the internal message system that ProZ provides; or alternatively, I can be reached at arfan.achyar@gmail.com. If you try to call me from outside Indonesia, you can reach me at +628388023826 or send me a text message to the same number. Otherwise, I can be reached at 02192794960

Final Words

I only provide the best-quality translation for my clients. The list of books which I have so far translated into Bahasa Indonesia should serve as the proof of my translation ability.

I have translated countless documents related with parenting, children rights and protection issues, labor issues, popular psychology, management, transportation, technical document, religious matters, and religious issues to and from English; and many others which are impossible for me to mention every single one of them.

Further information regarding cost and availability and full Curriculum Vitae are available upon request to arfan_achyar@yahoo.com or arfan.achyar@gmail.com

You will not be disappointed...