diff --git a/build/aclocal/bakefile-lang.m4 b/build/aclocal/bakefile-lang.m4
index 4cc4a679ee..ec0f711eec 100644
--- a/build/aclocal/bakefile-lang.m4
+++ b/build/aclocal/bakefile-lang.m4
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ dnl check for different proprietary compilers depending on target platform
 dnl _AC_BAKEFILE_PROG_COMPILER(LANG)
 AC_DEFUN([_AC_BAKEFILE_PROG_COMPILER],
 [
-    AC_PROG_$1
+    AC_REQUIRE([AC_PROG_$1])
 
     dnl Intel compiler can be used under several different OS and even
     dnl different architectures (x86, amd64 and Itanium) so it's easier to just