diff --git a/ejabberdctl.template b/ejabberdctl.template
index 0d1a64292..07395aafd 100755
--- a/ejabberdctl.template
+++ b/ejabberdctl.template
@@ -31,14 +31,14 @@ if [ "$INSTALLUSER" != "" ] ; then
         fi
     done
     if [ `id -g` -eq `id -g $INSTALLUSER` ] ; then
-        EXEC_CMD="sh -c"
+        EXEC_CMD="bash -c"
     fi
     if [ "$EXEC_CMD" = "false" ] ; then
         echo "This command can only be run by root or the user $INSTALLUSER" >&2
         exit 4
     fi
 else
-    EXEC_CMD="sh -c"
+    EXEC_CMD="bash -c"
 fi
 
 # parse command line parameters
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ shell_escape()
         if test -z "$i"; then
             printf '"" '
         else
-            printf '"%q" ' "$i" | sed 's/\\\\n/\n/g;s/\\\\t/\t/g;s/\\\\r/\r/g'
+            printf '%q ' "$i"
         fi
     done
 }