Mega projects currently have little to no engagements with affected local communities, to the point that some have no prior knowledge of the developments, said Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) after a months-long study on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Malaysia.

“There is a distinct lack of information operations regarding BRI projects at the grassroots level, leaving local communities feeling largely uninformed and overlooked.

“Unless there are local elected representatives or...