It's funny how people used a mnemonic to justify an answer.
That's like saying Math is the way it is because I tied this string around my finger
Multiplication and division are equal im PEMDAS it's actually P E MD AS. It could have just as easily be written PEDMSA.
The only argument for the answer being 1 is if you interpret the 2 being a function of the parenthesis. Since it's genreally considered shorthand for multiplication and not a function the answer is 9. (Unless your talking computer science or a different type of math like calculus where x and * dont mean the same thing anymore). Basically what EarlyMon said.
Still, my answer is 42.