SINGAPORE — Being on the final stretch of the route for the State Funeral procession for Mr Lee Kuan Yew, those in Clementi had to wait the longest to bid farewell to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister.

Still, many not only arrived early and waited under the unrelenting rain for Mr Lee’s cortege to pass, but also stayed waiting for the funeral service at the University Cultural Centre (UCC) to end so they could say one last goodbye.

From residents from blocks in the vicinity to National University of Singa­pore (NUS) undergraduates and many from the Japanese community living in the area, crowds lined Clementi Road hours before the funeral procession started at 12.30pm from Parliament House.

As the gun carriage bearing Mr Lee’s body approached at about 1.45pm, a melancholic lull fell over the area. The brief silence was soon broken by chants of “Lee Kuan Yew” and frantic waving of the Singapore flag, similar to scenes along the entire funeral procession route.

A 26-year-old engineer, who wanted to be known only as Kit, was visibly emotional, sobbing as she watched the live telecast of the procession on her smartphone.

“(Mr Lee) is our founding father. He built a place that we can call home,” she said, choking back tears. She had travelled from her Punggol home with a friend, a 29-year-old who wanted to be identified only as Ling.

Full-time national serviceman Zikry Zailani, 22, waited to pay his last respects since 11am, together with his mother, sister, brother and cousin.

Mr Zailani, who was unable to visit any of the community tribute sites or Parliament House because he had national service duties, said Mr Lee was an irreplaceable leader.

“He helped the Malay community with their education and building of mosques. Without him, we will not be living so safely here,” he added.

Japanese Yukiko Sato, 49, a housewife who has lived in Singapore for three years, said Mr Lee’s commitment to forgive Japan for its role in World War II touched her heart.

“When so many neighbouring countries held a grudge against Japan, Mr Lee chose to say that Singapore would ‘forgive, but not forget’,” she said.

While the crowds dispersed after the cortege entered NUS, some stayed back to watch the funeral service proceedings from their mobile devices.

Shortly before the service ended at about 5pm, the crowd reassembled along Clementi Road to wait for Mr Lee’s cortege to leave the UCC for a private wake at Mandai Crematorium.

Many shouted “We love you, Lee Kuan Yew” and “Thank you, sir”, while a group was heard reciting the pledge.