diff --git a/src/mbyte.c b/src/mbyte.c
index c7de94e..c1a5564 100644
--- a/src/mbyte.c
+++ b/src/mbyte.c
@@ -6897,7 +6897,7 @@
 		    return retval;
 		}
 	    }
-	    tmp = (short_u *)alloc(sizeof(short_u) * tmp_len);
+	    tmp = ALLOC_MULT(short_u, tmp_len);
 	    if (tmp == NULL)
 		break;
 	    if (vcp->vc_cpfrom == 0)