The room was filled with anticipation as the Prime Minister was about to give an important announcement related to the missing plane. Some reporters who had returned home rushed back to the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) as soon as they were alerted about the sudden press conference.
"This is it," I thought to myself. Usually the daily press conference is conducted by Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein regarding development of the missing MH370. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will only address the reporters to make significant announcement.
And a last minute press conference scheduled at 10pm has to definitely be important.
At 10pm sharp, Najib entered the room along side Hishamuddin with somber looks on both their faces. DCA Chief Azharuddin and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman too entered the room with their heads low.
The hustle in the room quieten down as Najib read out his statement. The air in the room filled with hundreds of reporters suddenly changed. From anticipation, the air now was thick and heavy. "With deep sadness and regret I must inform you that.... flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean." And there was pin drop silence.
The press conference that lasted for only 4 minutes carried the most excruciating and painful news for not only family members of passengers on the forever lost flight but also for the people who were in the room that night.
Malaysian Airlines (MAS) chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya who would usually be on the stage during the press conferences, was seated quietly alongside reporters on the front row. Even for someone who had held a brave front for the past 17 days, he finally broke down upon hearing the news.
Jauhari wept silently as Deputy Education Minister, P. Kamalanathan gave him a consoling hug.
Journalists were also not spared as Hema Subramaniam from Capital TV could not hold back her tears as she broke down after the announcement. Her laptop was opened before her but she could not write a single word. Her body trembled as she tried to keep it together. "How am I going to tell the families about this news?? It is so sad..." she said to me as I tried to comfort the distraught reporter.
Even for Malaysian Gazatte's Sarah Nadlin Rohim, she was stunned beyond words. Seated inside the press conference hall, painful tears streamed down her face as the reality sunk in. "We have been hoping and waiting for 17 days for some news but in the end we get this sad news." She even sobbed while reporting back to her editor to brief about the announcement that was made.
For journalist broadcasting live report, the challenge is pulling a calm and composed manner in front of the camera. However that proved too much even for CCTV news correspondent, James Chau, who cried during his live broadcast to studio in Beijing. “I'm sorry. Its too much,” Chau tweeted later. “I just kept believing, I really did,” he said in another posting.
I had been through many tough situations throughout my reporting career. I was only five minutes away from a live crossover when I received news of my beloved grandmother's death. Once, I had just survived a close shave with death in Somalia when a vehicle I was travelling was shot at by militants, killing a fellow journalist who was seated behind me. But in both situations, I took in a deep breath, put up a brave front and faced the cameras to make a live report. Yet, for some reason, the three minute crossover I had to do at the Putra World Trade Center on Monday night after the PM made the sad announcement affected me more. It felt like the longest and saddest I have ever done in my life. The whole time my thoughts were with the family members of 239 passengers on MH370.
Journalists have always seemed cold in presenting news and facts. However during trials and times of crisis, our walls are let down once in awhile. We too are after all humans.
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Story by Tan Su Lin of Astro Awani
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