I agree with you in principle

$ MSWin32-x86-multi-thread\perl.exe -V:sh
sh='cmd /x /c';

$ MSWin32-x86-multi-thread/perl.exe -V:sh
'MSWin32-x86-multi-thread' is not recognized as an internal or externa
+l command,
operable program or batch file.

$ "MSWin32-x86-multi-thread/perl.exe" -V:sh
sh='cmd /x /c';

$ perl -e " system qq[MSWin32-x86-multi-thread/perl.exe -V:sh ] "
sh='cmd /x /c';

$ perl -e " system q[MSWin32-x86-multi-thread\perl.exe -V:sh ] "
sh='cmd /x /c';
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