JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s young people must reject intolerance and not covet the possessions of other people.

This is according to Khaled Almaeena, a prominent Saudi political and media analyst, who said jealousy breeds resentment. He made the comments during his speech as chief guest at the Sir Syed Memorial Inter-School Speech Contest held recently.

At the event, organized by the alumni of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) at the International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ), he said: “We should be tolerant. Intolerance comes from jealousy. Accept people the way they are. Don’t be jealous or envious of a person if he has better material things than you.”

Student from Grades 9 to 12 from 10 international schools in Jeddah took part in the competition. The topic was “Tolerance leads us to a better world.” Around 200 invitees packed the IISJ Girls Section auditorium.

The participating schools were IISJ (Boys), IISJ (Girls), Delhi Public School (DPS), Al-Wurood, Al-Waha, Novel, Al-Shathi, Al-Ahdab and Mahad Al-Uloom schools. In addition, children of the AMU alumni participated. The speakers focused on the life and ideas of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, AMU’s founder.

Education Consul and Head of Chancery Mohammed Raghib Qureshi was the guest of honor. He praised the students for their oratorical skills and advised them to follow the path of tolerance, which was ultimately one of peace.

The IISJ retained the overall championship this year. Hunaiza Maryam, Iman Aqeel Khan, Yara Ahmad and Shahana Abdul Hasan were declared champions for Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Ikhlas Bayazid and Samia Nishath secured second and third position in the Grade 12 contest, Mohammed Hashir and Hira Abdul Wahid achieved second and third in Grade 11, Shana Munjappa and Nihal Rao bagged second and third in Grade 10, and Marwa Abdul Razak and Reniem Mohammed secured second and third in Grade 9.

Azizurrab A. Mohammad, vice president of the AMU alumni association, welcomed the guests and highlighted the contribution to humanity of Sir Syed. He said the association had launched several projects to help develop the skills of children.

Aqeel Jamil, general secretary, emphasized the importance of public speaking. Prizes and trophies were distributed by Raghib Qureshi, and Azizurrab and other prominent alumni presented plaques to the invited dignitaries.