A 47-year-old tribesman gathering food in a north Malaysian forest has fought off a tiger attack armed only with a rock.

The attack in the jungles of Perak state left Yok Meneh with a deep gash on his back and injuries to his hands and legs, the Sunday Star newspaper reported.

Yok Meneh told the newspaper he had been collecting wild green beans and other vegetables when the tiger attacked him.

"I was so engrossed in collecting petai (green beans) that I did not notice the tiger had crept up behind me," he said.

"The moment I realised I had to save myself I tried to grab anything I could with my hands.

"I found a rock, grabbed it and fought back, hitting the tiger on its head again and again until it slunk away."

"Bedraggled and bleeding", Yok Meneh was found by his wife, who, with the help of workers from a nearby oil palm estate, took him to hospital.

In 2008, Malaysia unveiled an ambitious national tiger action plan aimed at doubling the number of wild tigers in peninsular Malaysia to 1,000 by 2020.

- AFP