iirc, someone posted in the thread that when you are requested the passport check, your card is already issued with an expiry date, so the date may be the limit. I remembered wrongly.
After passing the review, Employment Gold Card will be issued with a validity period chosen by the applicant via the Foreign Professionals Application Platform. The validity period of the Card starts from the next day of issuance.
Iiuc the instruction, review and passport check are different steps.