 Before the formation of the Malaysia in 1963, the Sarawak's vehicle number plates were originally distinguished only by "NDx" (N = Number, D = Division, x = Alphabet) prefixes which represented the then five Administrative Divisions in Sarawak, followed by a number sequence which ranged from 1 to 9999; an example would be "1Dx ####" for the 1st Division, present-day Kuching Division.During the 1970s, Sarikei Division and Kapit Division were formed and split from the 3rd Division to become the 6th and 7th Divisions, and were therefore assigned the "6D" and "7D" prefixes respectively.By the 1980s, the original "1D" and "5D" prefixes had been gradually exhausted with the passing of time and were eventually replaced by single-lettered prefixes similar to that of Peninsular Malaysia.