linux, start command (with switch user) stored in variable

Question

Whats wrong here? The echo shows the correct syntax. Please help, thank you.

---

#!/bin/ksh
CMD="su - db2i72 -c 'db2 list utilities'" # or this
CMD="su - db2i72 -c \'db2 list utilities\'" # or this 
CMD="su - db2i72 -c \"db2 list utilities\"" # or this, always the same...

echo $CMD

$CMD

---

root@server:~ # ./test
su - db2i72 -c 'db2 list utilities'
Unmatched '.

Answer 1

Store commands in functions, not variables. You don't have to worry about quoting at all if you use a function.

cmd() {
    su - db2i72 -c 'db2 list utilities'
}

cmd