Callers jammed a talk-back radio program to air their opinions on the power outage that left large parts of the city-state without electricity for up to two hours Tuesday night.

One listener said Singaporeans complain a lot because they are used to seamless services, while another said authorities should start considering the possibility of sabotage to pipelines carrying natural gas into the country from neighbouring Indonesia.

The government's Energy Market Authority said the blackout -- described by a news report as the worst in a decade -- was caused by a disruption of the natural gas supply from Indonesia's West Natuna field.

A spokeswoman for the authority said they were investigating the cause of the disruption, which affected 30 percent of electricity demand.

Many mobile phone calls were futile during the blackout as telecommunications networks were affected, but some people creatively used their phones' lighted displays as torches in the dark.

Ivy Singh-Lim, president of the Singapore Netball Association, said she tried calling the police on two hotline numbers, but the lines were engaged.

"Actually the police should have some kind of a backup to handle such emergencies. I can't believe this," she was quoted in the Straits Times as saying.

Daisy Sum, who had to take a cold shower by candlelight at home, told the newspaper: "Singapore is not a Third World country. We have every right to expect better."

Others took advantage of the blackout to have fun by lighting sparklers and playing with glow sticks.

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