His family was sad to see him leave Hawaii, but Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak decided to put his family vacation in the US aside in order to deal with the plight of flood victims back home.

"Although my family was sad that I had to leave them, I told them that what they were experiencing could not compare with the feelings of the flood victims.

"And I am grateful that I could make several decisions to ease the sadness of the victims," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Initially, Najib came under fire when a photograph of him playing golf with US President Barack Obama in Hawaii emerged as the flood situation in several states worsened.

Following the criticisms, Najib had cut short his holiday and returned to the country yesterday.

However he appears to have taken a different plane from the government jet that had ferried him to Hawaii.

That carrier went the opposite direction to Los Angeles before ending up in Indianapolis , Indiana, where it has remained till now, according to data on flight tracking website Flightradar24 .

'Glad to be with the people'

Upon his arrival, Najib's first stop was in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, where the flood situation was the worst.

The prime minister has also ordered all his cabinet members who are on vacation to return to deal with the floods.

Today the premier visited his hometown of Kuala Lipis, Pahang, which has also not been spared by severe flooding.

Najib - who visited 410 victims at an evacuation centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Padang Tengku - noted that he felt sad over what is happening.

However, Najib said he is glad that he can be with the people during this trying time.