 However, the old algorithm was quickly exhausted as only combinations such as "D ####" were possible.Following World War II and declaration of North Borneo as a British Crown Colony, an "E" was added into the registration number prefix, with new registration numbers issued as "ED ####".After North Borneo's independence from British rule and entry into the Malaysian federation, the "E" prefix was replaced by an "S" suffix, altering the format to "D #### S", likely as a response to avoid conflicts with the Singaporean "E" to "EZ" series used between 1972 and 1984; the "S" suffix was also added to avoid further conflicts with Peninsular Malaysian formats.