The word choice is no mistake. “Transformation” is a lofty ideal, yet less aggressive than “revolution” and more positive than “change”.

It aims to satisfy radical changemakers, while remaining pleasant enough to soothe the more conservative crowd.

In a video posted by the Public Service Division to kick off the week, Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing conveys the four main points that the public service should embrace in order to “transform”. First, ambition for Singapore; second, working as Whole-of-Nation (don’t ask me why this is capitalised or hyphenated); third, staying humble; finally, determination and discipline in serving the nation.

These are palatable principles that anyone would unlikely oppose, but it’s also anyone’s guess how the public service plans to put these into action.

No doubt a three-minute video is sufficient enough to hammer home at least one quantifiable and actionable method for each point.

For example, “ambition for Singapore” could mean getting all public service agencies to migrate all paperwork online by 2020, while “determination and discipline” may mean that every public complaint must now go through two more rounds of vetting to help the member of public solve their issue.

Instead, we are pacified with truisms that could have just as easily come from the Budget, a National Day Rally, or a primary school model composition.

Chan Chun Sing says, “If we maintain a high level of ambition of what we want to achieve for Singapore, and are determined and disciplined in doing our best for Singapore, then there is absolutely nothing that we cannot achieve together. The key is ‘together’.”

He adds, “When we stay humble we will remind ourselves that we can never do all this by ourselves, but we need to work the Whole-of-Nation whereby we mobilise the entire nation to walk the journey with us. And if we can do that, then there’s really nothing stopping us from building an even better Singapore for generations to come.”

Sure it is an inspiring message. Yet only insofar as it makes me feel like taking action, but not actually doing so. Because what am I actually supposed to do? I have no idea.

Even if more specific messaging may have been passed down within the public service itself, it would’ve been heartening (and good PR) to see the transparency that the public service preaches trickle down to language itself.