diff --git a/etc/rc b/etc/rc
index 0ffbc408632..9c17eb69a18 100644
--- a/etc/rc
+++ b/etc/rc
@@ -813,6 +813,9 @@ case ${local_startup} in
 *)
 	echo -n 'Local package initialization:'
 	slist=""
+	if [ -z "${script_name_sep}" ]; then
+		script_name_sep=" "
+	fi
 	for dir in ${local_startup}; do
 		if [ -d "${dir}" ]; then
 			for script in ${dir}/*.sh; do
diff --git a/etc/rc.shutdown b/etc/rc.shutdown
index f6c59c9ae56..6a7ca8acf69 100644
--- a/etc/rc.shutdown
+++ b/etc/rc.shutdown
@@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ case ${local_startup} in
 	;;
 *)
 	slist=""
+	if [ -z "${script_name_sep}" ]; then
+		script_name_sep=" "
+	fi
 	for dir in ${local_startup}; do
 		if [ -d "${dir}" ]; then
 			for script in ${dir}/*.sh; do