"I am telling the developer if they want to do business in Penang, they should stop using bullying or bulldozing tactics," he said. "If you want to bulldoze, there will be problems. Don't force us to do things we do not want to do."

Tomorrow is the deadline for Kampung Lorong Buah Pala residents, consisting of 23 families, to hand over vacant possession of the land to the developer following a Court of Appeal's decision for the developer to take possession of the land one month from May 11.

The problem started in late 2007 when the developer issued notices to the residents to vacate the land but the residents reacted by initiating court action against the developer.

Last year, the residents won the case in the Penang High court and were allowed to stay on but the developer appealed and the court ruled in their favour.

Ramasamy said he would try to set up a dialogue between the developer and the residents so they could resolve the matter amicably.

He added the state government has set up a special investigative team headed by Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman to find out how the land was transferred to a government cooperative, Koperasi Pegawai Kerajaan Pulau Pinang, last year.

He said when the Housing Trust was dissolved, the land was supposed to be returned to the federal government but instead it was transferred to the cooperative.

Many of the residents in Kampung Lorong Buah Pala have stayed there for generations. The village is dubbed as Penang's 'High Chapparal' as it was initially occupied by cattle farmers. Some of the residents there are still cattle farmers.