diff --git a/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh b/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh
index 63995eb1575..f90e99ec468 100644
--- a/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh
+++ b/scripts/mysql_install_db.sh
@@ -79,7 +79,10 @@ parse_arguments() {
         then
           # This sed command makes sure that any special chars are quoted,
           # so the arg gets passed exactly to the server.
-          args="$args "`echo "$arg" | sed -e 's,\([^a-zA-Z0-9_.-]\),\\\\\1,g'`
+          # XXX: This is broken; true fix requires using eval and proper
+          # quoting of every single arg ($basedir, $ldata, etc.)
+          #args="$args "`echo "$arg" | sed -e 's,\([^a-zA-Z0-9_.-]\),\\\\\1,g'`
+          args="$args $arg"
         fi
         ;;
     esac