diff --git a/tests/Makefile.am b/tests/Makefile.am
index a547b1181..bc3d30892 100644
--- a/tests/Makefile.am
+++ b/tests/Makefile.am
@@ -53,22 +53,19 @@ else
 TESTSUITE_PERL = $(SHELL) $(srcdir)/no-perl
 endif
 
+# Options passed to the perl invocations running the perl test scripts.
+TESTSUITE_PERL_OPTIONS = -w -I$(srcdir) -MCoreutils -MCuSkip
 # '$f' is set by the Automake-generated test harness to the path of the
 # current test script stripped of VPATH components, and is used by the
-# shell-or-perl script to determine the name of the temporary files to be
-# used.  Note that $f is a shell variable, not a make macro, so the use of
-# '$$f' below is correct, and not a typo.
-LOG_COMPILER = \
-  $(SHELL) $(srcdir)/shell-or-perl \
-  --test-name "$$f" --srcdir '$(srcdir)' \
-  --shell '$(SHELL)' --perl '$(TESTSUITE_PERL)' --
-
-PL_LOG_COMPILER = $(LOG_COMPILER)
-SH_LOG_COMPILER = $(LOG_COMPILER)
+# CuTmpdir module to determine the name of the temporary files to be
+# used.  Note that $f is a shell variable, not a make macro, so the use
+# of '$$f' below is correct, and not a typo.
+TESTSUITE_PERL_OPTIONS += -M"CuTmpdir qw($$f)"
 
+SH_LOG_COMPILER = $(SHELL)
+PL_LOG_COMPILER = $(TESTSUITE_PERL) $(TESTSUITE_PERL_OPTIONS)
 # Perl scripts that must be run in tainted mode.
-XPL_LOG_COMPILER = \
-  $(TESTSUITE_PERL) -wT -I$(srcdir) -MCoreutils -MCuSkip -M"CuTmpdir qw($$f)"
+XPL_LOG_COMPILER = $(TESTSUITE_PERL) -T $(TESTSUITE_PERL_OPTIONS)
 
 # Note that the first lines are statements.  They ensure that environment
 # variables that can perturb tests are unset or set to expected values.
@@ -130,7 +127,6 @@ EXTRA_DIST =		\
   no-perl		\
   other-fs-tmpdir	\
   sample-test		\
-  shell-or-perl		\
   $(pr_data)
 
 root_tests =					\
diff --git a/tests/shell-or-perl b/tests/shell-or-perl
deleted file mode 100644
index 409db0ee7..000000000
--- a/tests/shell-or-perl
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,109 +0,0 @@
-#! /bin/sh
-# Run a test script of the coreutils test scripts, picking up the right
-# interpreter (i.e., perl or the shell) and the right flags for it.
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2011-2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-#
-# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-# (at your option) any later version.
-#
-# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-# GNU General Public License for more details.
-#
-# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-#
-
-# ---------------------------------- #
-#  Readonly variables and functions  #
-# ---------------------------------- #
-
-# Help to avoid typo-related bugs.
-set -u
-
-me=shell-or-perl
-
-fatal_ ()
-{
-  echo "$me: $*" >&2
-  # Exit with status '99' to inform the testsuite harness that an
-  # hard error occurred.
-  exit 99
-}
-
-print_help_ ()
-{
-  cat <<EOH
-Usage: $me [--help] [--srcdir DIR] [--shell SHELL-CMD] [--perl PERL-CMD]
-       [--test-name NAME-WITHOUT-VPATH] TEST-SCRIPT [ARGS..]
-EOH
-}
-
-# ---------------- #
-#  Option parsing  #
-# ---------------- #
-
-assign_optarg_to_var='
-  test $# -gt 1 || fatal_ "option '\''$1'\'' requires an argument"
-  eval "$var=\$2"
-  shift'
-
-srcdir=${srcdir-.}
-cu_PERL=${PERL-perl}
-cu_SHELL=/bin/sh # Getting $SHELL from the environment is dangerous.
-test_name=
-while test $# -gt 0; do
-  var=
-  case $1 in
-    --help) print_help_; exit $?;;
-    --shell) var=cu_SHELL;;
-    --perl) var=cu_PERL;;
-    --srcdir) var=srcdir;;
-    --test-name) var=test_name;;
-    --) shift; break;;
-    -*) fatal_ "unknown option '$1'";;
-    *) break;;
-  esac
-  test -z "$var" || eval "$assign_optarg_to_var"
-  shift
-done
-
-unset assign_optarg_to_var var
-
-case $# in
-  0) fatal_ "missing argument";;
-  *) test_script=$1; shift;;
-esac
-
-test -z "$test_name" && test_name=$test_script
-
-# --------------------- #
-#  Run the test script  #
-# --------------------- #
-
-test -f "$test_script" && test -r "$test_script" \
-  || fatal_ "test script '$test_script' does not exist, or isn't readable"
-
-read shebang_line < "$test_script" \
-  || fatal_ "cannot read from the test script '$test_script'"
-
-case $shebang_line in
-'#!/usr/bin/perl'*)
-  # The test is a perl script.
-  exec $cu_PERL -w -I"$srcdir" -MCoreutils -MCuSkip \
-                -M"CuTmpdir qw($test_name)" -- "$test_script" ${1+"$@"}
-  ;;
-*)
-  # Assume the test is a shell script.
-  exec $cu_SHELL "$test_script" ${1+"$@"}
-esac
-
-# ------------- #
-#  Not reached  #
-# ------------- #
-
-fatal_ "dead code reached"