Problems with QSH quotes - or something?

This is likely going to be a DUH! thing. I have a QSH script that will display
a message with a variable. Another one not only does not display the content
of the variable, but the trailing part of the constant part of the message is
missing as well.

This works:

log_sysopr() {
doubledquotes="${1//'/''}"
cmd=$(printf "CALL QMHSNDM (CPF9897 'QCPFMSG *LIBL' '%s' \
x'%08x' *INFO *SYSOPR x'00000001' ' ' x'00000000' \
x'00000000')" "$doubledquotes" ${#doubledquotes})
echo $cmd
system "$cmd"
}

file='Data file'
log_sysopr "SPBAHCNCL - Starting sFTP file retrieval - $file"


The echo shows the correct file name. The CPYFRMIMPF has the correct file name.
The line starting with: get_file $i is retrieving the correct file from the
remote site.

The function log_sysopr was copied into this script from the previous script.

echo $i
sysmsg="SPBAHCNCL - Retrieving file: $i"
log_sysopr $sysmsg
get_file $i | sftp_session
syscmd="CPYFRMIMPF FROMSTMF('$i') TOFILE(SPBAHCP4) \
RCDDLM(*CRLF) FLDDLM('|')"
system $syscmd

Given all that, how is it possible that QSYSOPR shows this:

SPBAHCNCL - Starting sFTP file retrieval
SPBAHCNCL
SPBAHCNCL - Ending sFTP file retrieval

The first and third lines are just text with no substitution. I could
understand if I saw nothing for the second line. This is how the first line is
sent:

log_sysopr "SPBAHCNCL - Starting sFTP file retrieval"

So, where is the rest of the fixed text (- retrieving file:) and/ the file
name?

Could this be an issue with yet another uninstalled PTF?

John McKee