diff --git a/bind8/records-lib.pl b/bind8/records-lib.pl
index 871c4a7e7..059234831 100755
--- a/bind8/records-lib.pl
+++ b/bind8/records-lib.pl
@@ -738,8 +738,11 @@ return $_[0] eq "." ||
 # If a path does not start with a /, prepend the base directory
 sub absolute_path
 {
-if ($_[0] =~ /^([a-zA-Z]:)?\//) { return $_[0]; }
-return &base_directory()."/".$_[0];
+my ($path) = @_;
+if ($path =~ /^([a-zA-Z]:)?\//) {
+	return $path;
+	}
+return &base_directory()."/".$path;
 }
 
 # parse_spf(text, ...)