Good point. I could just leave my application pending and wait. Nothing to lose but waiting. Best case it's approved after the 10th, or I have to apply again.
Thanks all for your help. Perhaps I'm just unlucky with Penang. Even if I waited for the final days before I applied, the visa would've still been valid. Surely I'm not the first person to have a valid visa while applying for the next one. Was I supposed to wait until the last day on the visa, fly out, and then apply for the DTV the next day? I've not read anyone here having to do that before - seems very strange.