SEPANG, March 15 — An air of anxiety is filing the room at the Sama-Sama Hotel here where Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is due to make an announcement on Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

The presence of China’s Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang has also heightened expectations on the gravity of Najib’s announcement soon.

A local official earlier leaked out to the press that the flight was hijacked.

A detailed security check at the entry point for the press conference is delaying its start; members of the media jostling to make their way in for the hastily-convened event is further slowing the checks.

An announcement by a government official that the prime minister will only issue a statement but not field questions during this press conference also triggered a brief uproar from the media, who were told to submit their queries at the daily press conference later in the evening

The event is now 30 minutes behind schedule.

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