diff --git a/scripts/start-rc.sh b/scripts/start-rc.sh
index 760430c7c1..0388143a08 100755
--- a/scripts/start-rc.sh
+++ b/scripts/start-rc.sh
@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ hazelcast-enterprise-${HAZELCAST_ENTERPRISE_VERSION}-tests.jar:\
 hazelcast-${HAZELCAST_TEST_VERSION}-tests.jar"
 
 # necessary arguments for Java 9+
-if ! java -version 2>&1 | grep -E "java version \"1\." > /dev/null; then
+JAVA_MAJOR_VERSION=$(java -version 2>&1 | head -n 1 | awk -F '"' '{print $2}' | awk -F '.' '{print $1}')
+if [ "$JAVA_MAJOR_VERSION" != "1" ]; then
     MODULE_ARGUMENTS="--add-exports java.base/jdk.internal.ref=ALL-UNNAMED --add-opens java.base/java.nio=ALL-UNNAMED"
 fi