Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – It is personal ambition, not political partisanship, that is fuelling a dispute between middle and high-ranking officers over who should lead the Indonesian police force, according to police sources here.

The saga over the controversial sacking of defiant police chief General Suroyo Bimantoro has brought to light cut-throat rivalries within the ranks of the police corps and how this makes them susceptible to a "divide and rule" approach.

A retired police chief still influential within the force told The Straits Times: "The person who wants to divide and rule the police force has succeeded in doing it, because they can read the situation very well.

"Every time there is a change in leadership, there are always hopes and fear. I am certain that those who want Bimantoro out of the picture are seeking career opportunities out of the conflict, while their rivals who have been promoted to good positions by Bimantoro are afraid of what may happen to them."

The internal conflict is pitting police officers still loyal to Gen. Bimantoro against those who support his anointed replacement, deputy Commissioner General Chairudin Ismail. Gen. Bimantoro's backers, mostly older officers from his class of 1970, have expressed displeasure with Com-Gen. Chaerudin for accepting President Abdurrahman Wahid's appointment, calling him ambitious. They have snubbed his several attempts to call meetings, publicly attending to affairs involving Gen. Bimantoro instead.

Gen Bimantoro was suspended and then sacked last month by Mr Abdurrahman after the police chief refused to resign. But the general claimed his removal was illegal as it had not been cleared by Parliament.

Sources said Gen Bimantoro's supporters at police headquarters outnumbered those who wanted him to resign because he had secured top posts for them during his nine months as police chief.

In early June, immediately after refusing to resign, Gen Bimantoro appointed 94 mid and high-ranking officers to new positions. The appointments were followed by a series of public statements by local police chiefs in support of Gen Bimantoro, including one by Jakarta Police Chief Insp-Gen Sofjan Jacob.

But their sentiment is not shared by some of their younger colleagues – officers belonging to the classes of 1971 to 1973. About 150 mid-ranking officers recently demanded the resignation of Gen Bimantoro and his backers, alleging that they were politicising the police force.

"We demand police chief Gen Suroyo Bimantoro and several high-ranking officers who back him stop this sickening act of insubordination and leave the National Police to be led by a younger generation," said Senior Commissioner Alfons L. at Tuesday's gathering of mid-ranking officers.